Hey, what’s up Cut Or Tap readers! SmartTCG here. I hope you are having a wonderful week, and your testing for Charlotte and Fort Wayne Regionals is going well if you are attending!
Today, I am going to take a dive into the metagame currently, and exactly what the BEST plays are heading into the events. Now, I will be the first to admit, players are a little burnt out on this format, and I cannot wait to begin writing more about Scarlet and Violet. However, these two events are imperative for many peoples’ quest for their Worlds Invite, so I will do the best I can to prepare you all for the event. These will be my 100% genuine thoughts, and will contain my two top picks heading into this event. Let’s take a dive into the metagame.
Vancouver Regionals & Utrecht Special Event
I most recently placed 10th at Vancouver Regionals with Mew VMAX, and I got a really good idea of how the metagame should develop heading into Charlotte and Fort Wayne. As of right now, it is still clear that Lugia VSTAR continues to dominate the Standard format. The deck seemingly wins almost every event, and is piloted by a large portion of the top players. Ian Robb most recently won Vancouver with a Lugia VSTAR list that utilized cards like Escape Rope and Irida. Currently Lugia remains at the top of the format, however the metagame has shifted slightly.
Duraludon VMAX and Goodra VSTAR Rise
Well, this was quite a surprise to me over the past few weeks. I personally thought Goodra VSTAR and Duraludon VMAX were going to phase themselves out of the format, but they came roaring back these past two weeks. We saw Zach Lesage get Top 4 at Vancouver with Duraludon VMAX, Nico Alabas win the Utrecht Special Event with Duraludon as well, and also saw Cobi Kawasaki get 2nd place at Vancouver with Goodra VSTAR. It seems as of right now, big tanky Pokemon have a place in the Standard format. Duraludon VMAX’s Skyscraper ability, and Goodra VSTAR’s Moisture Star are both great Abilities that have carried both decks to relevance.
To be quite honest, the biggest reason why Lost Box is falling off a cliff right now in success rate is due to the fact that Duraludon and Goodra are seeing so much play. Personally, I never thought I would say this, but Lost Box is a relatively weak deck in the Standard format right now. With how the metagame has shifted, the deck continues to fall out of favor. Lost Box, although an inherently powerful deck, will continue to struggle if decks like Duraludon and Goodra VSTAR continue to see so much play and success.
Now, these notes will lead into the two decks that I am considering right now for Charlotte. With how the metagame is shaping up, both of these decks make fantastic choices heading into the event. Let’s take a look at one of my top choices:
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