With the conclusion of Champions League Sapporo on 4 May 2024, the 2023-24 season of the Pokémon TCG is well and truly in the home stretch. There are just two major tournaments yet to be played before the World Championships to be held in Honolulu in August—the Japan Championships from 1-2 June, and the Pokémon North America International Championships (NAIC) from 7-9 June.

The recent launch of Mask of Change [SV6] has introduced significant new cards to the metagame—many of which have already risen to prominence in decks across Japan and will likely do the same when they’re released internationally as part of Twilight Masquerade [TWM] which drops on 24 May.

According to statistics gleaned from all sorts of Pokémon TCG tournaments around the world, these are the decks currently at the summit of the Pokémon TCG meta.

Charizard ex

In a remarkable upset, this deck which had been dominating the meta for so long came up short at both Champions League Sapporo and the Indianapolis Regionals. That being said, its near-flawless track record up to this point indicates that, unless the meta has truly shifted, the Charizard ex deck remains the biggest threat out there right now.

With this deck, Pidgeot ex gets things going with its Ability of Quick Search. Able to grant the player any card desired, it pairs well with Infernal Reign, Charizard ex’s Ability. The pairing of these two Abilities sets up Charizard ex’s Burning Darkness attack by giving it all the Fire Energy cards it needs to unleash an absolutely fearsome blow.

Of course, Bibarel can’t be overlooked. Serving as another draw engine, Bibarel’s Ability of Industrious Incisors enables the player to draw cards until the player has five cards in hand. There’s tremendous synergy between every element of this deck—in particular its draw engines.

Dragapult ex

Following the launch of Mask of Change [SV6], it didn’t take long for the Dragapult ex deck to become the talk of the Pokémon TCG world. Within several days of the set’s release, Dragapult ex decks had a dominant showing at City League Kanagawa where three of the top four finishers used it. This deck then banished any doubts if it could hold up on the big stage as well with three of the top eight finishers playing a Dragapult ex deck at Champions League Sapporo.

Packing a massive 320 HP and devoid of any weakness, Dragapult ex serves as the main attacker via Phantom Dive. That attack not only dishes out 200 damage; it also allows the player to place six damage counters across the opponent’s Benched Pokémon in any possible arrangement, leaving them more vulnerable if they have to step into the Active spot.

Similar to the Espathra ex/Xatu deck, the Dragapult ex deck uses Xatu as the main supporting piece. As soon as the player attaches a Psychic Energy card to a Benched Pokémon, Xatu’s Ability of Clairvoyant Sense activates and lets the player draw two cards. When combined with Instant Charge, Rotom V’s Ability, this deck’s dual draw engines make setup a much simpler task.

Lugia VSTAR

After its recent slump, the Lugia VSTAR deck bounced back strongly with a fourth-place finish at Champions League Sapporo. Lugia VSTAR deck players also placed 9th, 12th, and 14th at the same tournament, proving that its relative underperformances at EUIC and Champions League Aichi were outliers and that it remains a force in the current meta.

Lugia VSTAR kicks things off with Summoning Star, its Ability that enables the player to get Archeops in play without the need to play an Archen and evolve it. This lets the player use Archeops’ Ability of Primal Turbo to power up Cinccino with plenty of Special Energy cards.

At this point, Cinccino should be ready to tear through opposing decks. Special Roll, dealing 70 damage per Special Energy card attached, ensures that there’s very little that Cinccino can’t KO as long as it’s loaded with Special Energy cards.

In other TCG-related news, check out the Iron Leaves ex card from Cyber Judge [SV5M]. Alternatively, you can also head over to the SNKRDUNK App via the banner below and find the top trending and latest single cards and boxes.