Squawk and Seize the day, subscribers! Hunter back again, for another Paldea Evolved-format deck which hasn’t been talked too much about. I’ve now been testing the Paldea Evolved format for over a month, and feel very confident about the stance of many decks. This article will entail my thoughts on where the meta is for the largest tournament of Pokemon TCG history: the 2023 North American International Championship.
When transitioning into a new format, players tend to flock to new archetypes created by cards released in the new set. However, this behavior is dangerous for a couple of reasons. Archetypes printed together such as Baxcallibur/Chien-Pao are strong, no doubt in my mind. Optimization is where the initial problem lies. Trial and error is a great way to send a deck through the gauntlet, but this leaves you as the test dummy. Skilled players like Tord Reklev have taken brand new archetypes to great heights, but I’m positive those reading this don’t have the deck-building skills to get these card inclusions correct on the first try.
Cue Hunter Butler deck-building help! I recommend for players trying to lock up their invite at NAIC to choose a different path – unfortunately a boring one. Those who have more experience with a previous archetype throughout this season should stick to that choice, updating the archetype with newly released cards. Confidence and knowledge are the keys to a tournament of this magnitude; boasting 2,000 Masters players, NAIC can bring you a whirlwind. Massive player turnout creates a more toxic meta to predict; you could face the same deck every round, or face different decks. Sticking to what you know can be the difference between advancing to Day 2, when faced up against a player who is underexperienced with a new archetype.
Let’s dive into the meta a bit.
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No meowscarada?