Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! I hope you are all doing well. With Dortmund and Joinville Regionals behind us and Knoxville just around the corner, the Stellar Crown format is really starting to shape up. Despite many decks foregoing the inclusion of new cards, the impact of this new set has certainly reshaped the metagame. So far, we have seen a lot of old faces at the top. Lugia VStar and Raging Bolt ex are still frontrunners, while decks like Dragapult ex got the buffs they needed to become top-tier threats. We also have a newcomer in Terapagos ex, but it has only now started putting up major results, as it saw practically no success in Japan.
Regidrago VStar, once the undisputed champion of the format, may have lost a bit of its luster, but it’s far from irrelevant. At this year’s World Championships, Regidrago absolutely dominated, taking four spots in the Top 8. While its recent tournament performances might seem modest in comparison – a Top 4 and Top 8 finish at the Tokyo Champions League, and two Top 16 placements at both Dortmund Regionals and Joinville Regionals – these results don’t tell the whole story. The deck is evolving, with players like Jon Eng and Isaiah Bradner innovating it by adding a 1-1 Noctowl line to their builds in Dortmund. I believe there are many other ways that Regidrago can adapt to tackle the current metagame, which we will explore today.
Looking ahead, I believe the metagame is shaping up well for Regidrago VStar. Many decks are starting to disrespect the deck, something I would have thought unthinkable just a month ago. For example, we saw the list that won Dortmund Regionals exclude Manaphy, opening the door for early Kyurem plays to completely shut the opponent out of the game. If players follow this trend, it could create a large opening for Regidrago to perform moving forward.
Although I did not get to attend either of the Regional Championships last weekend, I did take Regidrago to two local League Cups and managed to win both without dropping a single game. In both of these lists, I experimented with some of the new cards from Stellar Crown, which I will discuss later in the article. But first, let’s start by analyzing some of the lists that placed well at the recent major tournaments.
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