Meta and Preparing for EUIC

Hello everyone! As the Prismatic Evolutions metagame develops, we are seeing some trends that will help players prepare for the upcoming European International Championships. If you’re trying to narrow down what to practice and play for EUIC, you’ve come to the right place. I have started to form some opinions on what decks are good and which ones are stinky in comparison. It’s not entirely realistic to give each deck its due diligence, as there is only so much time in the day. After all, to get a good grasp on a deck, it takes more than just a few games. Unless you’re already a die-hard follower of a certain deck, you probably want to try out various decks and figure out what’s best. Today I’ll help you narrow down the viable decks in this format, as well as discuss various options for each deck.

For most people, I would recommend starting with three of your favorite decks and getting familiar with them in the new format. As the meta progresses further, you can choose between the three for your final pick. In an ideal world, you’ll have your deck decided a week in advance, and can dedicate that time to finalizing that list and traveling. This process can more or less work for every major tournament. As for what three decks you should start with, I’ll give you some of my favorite options today. Of course, I’ll be talking about the other relevant meta decks as well, so you can understand them and know what to expect.

Dragapult

[cardimg name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Let’s start with [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], which is this format’s early frontrunner. Dragapult benefits from the format change in several ways. First and foremost, Dragapult is a deck that can take advantage of Budew. It checks all of the boxes for Budew. Dragapult doesn’t have anything better to do in the early game anyway, besides occasionally use [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Technical Machine: Evolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card]; it can easily access Budew and put it into the Active Spot on turn 1; and it benefits from slowing down the opponent. Slowing the game down gives you more time to set up multiple [card name=”Drakloak” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], each of which provides more value as the game drags on. Finally, Dragapult can capitalize on its setup by utilizing a powerful and bulky attacker alongside [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]. Combined, this is a ridiculous amount of damage output capable of wiping out boards and creating brutal checkmates. Dragapult no longer has to worry about [card name=”Kyurem” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] board wipes, as [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] is less popular, and even if you face it, you can slow it down with Budew.

It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to realize that the deck is good now. As a result, it is currently the most popular deck in online tournaments with a respectable win rate to boot, and it has completely infested the ladder on PTCG Live. The only major tournament in this format so far was the Osaka Champions League, with 5,000 players. This tournament featured three Dragapult / Dusknoir decks in the Top 16, including one in Top 4. Dragapult is sure to be a major contender in the new format, so it is a consideration as well as a threat.

Lists for the deck are mostly uniform. One common decision I disagree with is playing two Budew. I suspect the reason for this is in case you prize it, which is fair, but I don’t think you use it enough times to want to play two. Although this deck is sometimes on the slower side, it still wants to use Phantom Dive as soon as possible. Sometimes you start swinging on turn 2, but usually it’s on turn 3, which is very reasonable. You just don’t need to spam Budew all game, and if you really need it back, you can use [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”251″ c=”name”][/card]. All decks expect and adapt to Budew, so it’s not as though you are completely crippling them. Of course, Budew is still good, but I don’t think you need two copies because you aren’t winning the game solely by spamming it. It’s just a nice option for turn 1 going second, which is what you aim for. If it’s prized, you can still use TM: Evolution and be fine.

Only about half of lists play TM: Evolution. The card is too good and has powerful synergy with the deck since it plays four [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] and tons of Stage 1 Pokemon. I am a fan of including one copy for the versatility and consistency.

I’m also an advocate for two uncommon tech cards: [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Klefki” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card]. The main reason for Manaphy is that [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card]’s [card name=”Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] absolutely brutalizes this deck if you don’t have it. Of course, having some defense against random [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] decks running amok is nice, and it also neutralizes [card name=”Scream Tail” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], which is one of [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]’s main attackers. Klefki, on the other hand, gives you something to do when your opponent inevitably forces you to go first. It also shuts down fast and aggressive decks that could be threatening, such as [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Terapagos ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. As for other techs, I think [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] is too difficult to find consistently, and it also does nothing most of the time, except of course against Lugia. The switch cards haven’t stood out to me either. It’s easy enough to retreat around, especially with [card name=”Rescue Board” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card]. And my [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG39″ c=”name”][/card] is always dead by the time I could pick it up with [card name=”Professor Turo’s Scenario” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. I also can’t afford to discard the Energy off my Dragapult with Turo, and would usually rather attack with a damaged one and let it go down. I think a second Rescue Board would actually be the most efficient mobility card, and it can save you if you prize one.

All that said, this deck hasn’t terribly impressed me overall. For a deck with relatively little list flexibility and one that is going to have a huge target on its back, the deck isn’t that broken. It’s obviously good, but feels mid to me compared to some of the other meta decks. While it doesn’t perform badly into the other top dogs, Lugia and Gardevoir, it doesn’t exactly dominate them either. I would expect to play against this deck quite a lot in the near future, but it’s not a deck I would be happy to play myself.

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Lugia

I already covered Lugia in a recent article, so I won’t spend as much time on it now. Lugia is positioned very well with the meta shifts, and it is relatively unbothered by Budew. It is very popular online and boasts the highest win rate among the top decks. Like Dragapult, it managed three top 16 spots including a Top 4 at the Osaka Champions League. Wellspring Ogerpon is very strong right now, so I think all lists should play it. You can basically win on the spot against Evolution decks if they don’t run Manaphy or if they don’t get it into play fast enough. My list still plays [card name=”Great Ball” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card] for consistency. In general, Lugia wants consistency because its power level is so high once it gets set up. One interesting thing is that Lugia is one of the few decks that can play [card name=”Jamming Tower” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”153″ c=”name”][/card]. While Jamming Tower is very good in the current meta, the opportunity cost of consistency is one thing that Lugia does not want to easily give up.

I think Lugia should be a consideration for every competitive player right now. I’m not too concerned about stray Temple of Sinnohs here and there, and if [card name=”Iron Thorns ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] continues to stay down, it’s clear that Lugia is in a great spot. You should also be prepared to face Lugia. Aside from fringe Iron Thorns, Lugia is most scared of Miraidon and [card name=”Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card].

Gardevoir

Aside from Lugia, Gardevoir boasts the highest win rate among the meta decks (though things could change slightly by the time this article is released). Gardevoir enjoys many of the same benefits as Dragapult: it can use Budew, it doesn’t care too much about opposing Budew, and it benefits from a slow-and-steady approach with its Stage 1 draw support. Of course, Gardevoir can occasionally have fast starts, especially if it gets the turn 1 TM: Evolution. The main reason why Gardevoir is better than Dragapult is because it doesn’t rely as much on Dusknoir. It’s a bit easier to pull off a nuke attack with [card name=”Drifloon” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] than with Dusknoir plus Phantom Dive, and your two-Prize Pokemon isn’t at risk in the Active spot. Scream Tail rounds out the deck with the strongest snipe attack in the game, and [card name=”Munkidori” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] adds even more damage while healing off snipe damage from an opposing Dragapult. Also, [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card]’s Refinement is just a better Ability than Drakloak’s Recon Directive. As of right now, I consider Lugia, Gardevoir, and Dragapult to be the three Tier 1 decks. They are all incredibly strong and benefit in different ways from meta shifts.

Gardevoir was already good, as it won the last US Regionals at San Antonio. Interestingly, only one was in the Top 16 of Osaka, and it was the oddball [card name=”Call Bell” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] version. This seems to rely on going second, and hasn’t caught on as much as the traditional build. At the moment of writing, I am about to play Gardevoir to a League Cup tomorrow morning. I am playing the [card name=”Secret Box” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] build, though [card name=”Unfair Stamp” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] is overwhelmingly popular in the current online metagame. I think both ACE SPECs are great, and I’m not sure which is the best in the new format. In general, I lean towards Secret Box, though it requires a bit more accommodation than Unfair Stamp in terms of both deckbuilding and the discard cost when you play it.

I am a fan of Klefki and Manaphy for the same reasons as Dragapult, though it’s even easier for Gardevoir to put Klefki into the Active Spot when going first due to playing more Energy cards. I’ve never been a believer in [card name=”Mawile” set=”Lost Origin” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], and that continues into the new format. You definitely can dunk on unsuspecting Miraidon players, but I find that to be high-maintenance and unreliable. They also can play around it if they know, even if it does inconvenience them quite a bit. Of course, Klefki provides lots of help against Miraidon anyway. Mawile has other uses too, but they are a bit too situational for my liking. I’m not a fan of the card overall. As for [card name=”Flutter Mane ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card], it’s definitely good. It is basically necessary in the mirror match if the opponent has Flutter Mane. Otherwise, it’s a decent attacker in some fringe situations, such as against decks with low-HP Pokemon. Its Ability lock isn’t as good as Klefki, but can sometimes be useful against the likes of Lugia or [card name=”Latias ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]. However, it’s hard to play Klefki, Flutter Mane, and Budew, so you probably have to live without one of them.

I’m currently playing a tech [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] to deal with Lugia. Responding to [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] with Enhanced Hammer on their Legacy Energy plus Scream Tail KO on their Archeops is effectively an instant win. Enhanced Hammer is also great against Terapagos, but that’s not a great justification. It’s basically just for Lugia. I’m not completely sure if it’s optimal to play the Hammer, but I do want to respect Lugia for the time being. Another idea is to play [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] instead of Enhanced Hammer, which could buy time against Lugia. They usually won’t have the [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] and the Iron Hands right away, and you’re fine with them committing a single-Prize attacker for the Mimikyu. Unfortunately, Mimikyu applies no pressure, so its usefulness quickly expires, and it’s completely useless against [card name=”Iron Bundle” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”56″ c=”name”][/card].

Gardevoir is such a good deck, and has basically everything you could ask for. It’s not particularly fast, but in a slower format, it’s just fine. Along with Lugia, Gardevoir is a top consideration for me, and again, it’s also a major threat.

Charizard

[cardimg name=”Grand Tree” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”136″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

For some reason, Charizard is still quite popular online. However, its win rate is abysmal. The [card name=”Grand Tree” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] version made Top 16 at Osaka, which kind of makes sense. After all, how else could Charizard possibly deal with an opposing Budew? It seems like some people are playing traditional Charizard lists with the mindset of “Budew isn’t real and can’t hurt me.” This, of course, is foolishness. Others are playing similar builds, but with small adjustments to account for Budew (such as the Grand Tree). Charizard has to undergo some changes to keep up in the current meta, and I don’t think it has been completely solved yet. On paper, the deck does well against Lugia and Gardevoir, which is great. Unfortunately, the Dragapult matchup is always going to be rough. The 60-HP [card name=”Charmander” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] does an excellent job of slaying Budew with Heat Tackle, but then you’re playing the 60-HP Charmander and get totally farmed by Dragapult.

I don’t know if Charizard has any hope or if it should just die. I don’t see any real option for it besides relying on Grand Tree, but then the deck becomes more congested and less efficient than normal. At least you don’t fold to Budew that way. Alas, it was a Grass-type to bring Charizard to its knees, but not in the way you’d expect. Unless you’re the genius who breaks Charizard in the new format, I wouldn’t spend any time on it. I also don’t expect it to be a major threat until someone proves its worth in the meta, or if Dragapult drops in popularity. Until then, it’s a Tier 2 deck at best.

Ceruledge

[card name=”Ceruledge ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”36″ c=”name”][/card] is very interesting right now for several reasons. It can play Jamming Tower and Budew, [card name=”Charcadet” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] easily KO’s Budew, and the deck can be built in several different ways. The two in Osaka Top 16 played Secret Box and [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card], and I’ve also seen it with [card name=”Legacy Energy” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Brilliant Blender” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Energy Search Pro” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”176″ c=”name”][/card]. Some builds play Palkia and some even play Munkidori. I don’t see why you wouldn’t play Palkia in this deck. Palkia is strong, [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] is broken, and there are tons of situations where Moonlight Shuriken is useful. The whole package also has some strong synergy with the deck. I don’t fully see the vision behind Munkidori. Sure, it can heal damage against Dragapult or something, but I don’t think it’s worth the trouble. I could set up a Munkidori with a Dark Energy for 30 damage (and that’s only if my opponent obliges), or I can simply discard the Energy for 20 damage. Perhaps if I was more of a Ceruledge expert, I could find a reason for Munkidori, but as of now I have plenty of other things I want to do with that space.

As Ceruledge, I would be most concerned about the Lugia matchup, which is quite bad no matter how you slice it. Gardevoir can be scary, but Jamming Tower is extremely strong against them, as is Radiant Greninja if they don’t get Manaphy down. Dragapult is also very manageable so long as you’re able to get enough Energy in the discard to one-shot it. Budew is a little annoying, but at least this deck is easily able to KO it right away. Ceruledge is another Tier 2 deck that is worth keeping an eye on. If Lugia turns out to not be as dominant as I expect, Ceruledge can definitely take advantage of such an opening. Ceruledge is also very strong against fellow Tier 2 decks like Miraidon and [card name=”Archaludon ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], so it has some things going for it.

Ceruledge is a deck that I’m not too excited about at this very moment, but I’m definitely putting a pin in it for future reference.

Dialga

The Dialga / Archaludon deck did win the Osaka Champions League, but it still seems like a deck with very middling popularity. It doesn’t seem like many people are excited about this deck. I am personally in the same boat. The deck seems like one that is just fine, but not amazing. Star Chronos is obviously a very broken attack, but it is extremely difficult to pull off, especially if your opponent is set against it. Even if you do pull off the Star Chronos, it’s not necessarily winning you the game against Dragapult or Gardevoir, though it does devastate Lugia. I’ve only played this deck a few times, but I have not been impressed.

Miraidon

I was honestly surprised to see Miraidon drop off in popularity after its win at the Sacramento Regional Championships. It’s also relatively unpopular in the online environment right now, but its win rate is impressive and it seems to be well-positioned right now. Whether you go first or second, you should have a chance to get enough Energy onto Iron Hands to respond to Budew. A fast Iron Hands is absolutely broken against all three of the top decks, and Miraidon is the deck that can do it. With [card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] and a variety of tech Pokemon, Miraidon can leverage its speed and consistency to punish a slow metagame. I think it is quite strong right now, and I would certainly recommend giving it a shot and keeping it in your roster. Klefki is more crippling for it than Budew if you ask me, but with four Boss’s Orders, you can sometimes get around it. Klefki isn’t overwhelmingly popular right now, but if the meta develops with more fast decks like Miraidon, it’s possible that Klefki makes its way into more Gardevoir and Dragapult lists.

That’s all for today! Thanks for reading! Of the meta decks, I think Lugia, Gardevoir, and Miraidon are the best, so I would encourage you to spend some time with those decks if you’re trying to figure out the best play for this format. Of course, I’m still liking the Terapagos deck that I wrote about here, so give that a spin as well!

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