The first two major tournaments of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (or TCG) Surging Sparks era have finally concluded and the meta is shaping up to be an exciting one. Gone are the days of Regidrago VSTAR dominating sole top finishes, due to the shift in what decks are being brought to the tournament field.
Let’s look at the Top 5 decks you should play at your next tourney:
Charizard ex
It’s no surprise that Charizard ex still forms a competent deck. With its Infernal Reign ability, it doesn’t need any other setup card to be able to attack with Burning Darkness, as it can attach Basic Fire Energy to itself. And the more prizes get taken by the opponent, the tougher the game becomes for them!
The squad is supported by Pidgeot ex, which can search the deck for any card we need once per turn, while Dusknoir can soften up other threats through its Cursed Blast ability – which also powers up Charizard ex‘s Burning Darkness attack.
The deck is also fairly simple to pick up, yet still hard to master. You can get the core pieces of the deck through the newly-released Charizard ex League Battle Deck.
The recent Stuttgart Regional in Germany proved to be the ideal metagame for the deck, as it took the top two spots in an all-Chairzard ex finals in the Masters Division. Here’s the winning decklist:
1st Place Regional Stuttgart – Aarni Karjala
Pokémon: 19
3 Charmander MEW 4
1 Charmeleon PAF 8
2 Charizard ex OBF 125
2 Duskull BRS 60
1 Dusclops SFA 19
1 Dusknoir SFA 20
2 Pidgey OBF 162
2 Pidgeot ex OBF 164
1 Cleffa OBF 80
1 Radiant Charizard CRZ 20
1 Lumineon V BRS 40
1 Rotom V LOR 58
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
Trainer: 36
4 Arven OBF 186
2 Iono PAL 185
2 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
1 Professor Turo’s Scenario PAR 171
1 Briar SCR 132
1 Thorton LOR 167
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
4 Rare Candy SVI 191
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
2 Counter Catcher PAR 160
2 Super Rod PAL 188
1 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Unfair Stamp TWM 165
1 Defiance Band SVI 169
1 Forest Seal Stone SIT 156
1 Collapsed Stadium BRS 137
Energy: 5
5 Fire Energy SVE 10
Miraidon ex
In a field of Regidrago VSTARs and Lugia VSTARs, Miraidon ex shines. When decks want to go first, Miraidon ex takes advantage of this by setting up attackers on the first turn, going second.
The deck is named after Miraidon ex, whose Tandem Unit ability allows us to search the deck for up to two Lightning Pokémon and place them on our bench. This lets us to grab a second Miraidon ex and repeat the process, filling up our bench with threats such as Raikou V and Iron Hands ex.
But how do we attack on our first turn when we go second? We utilize the Item card Electric Generator, which lets us attach up to two Basic Lightning Energy cards from the top five cards of our deck. With a wide board (propped up by Pikachu ex and Area Zero Underdepths), Raikou V can hit insane numbers!
Latias ex also allows us to freely pivot our Pokémon in and out of the active spot, while Magneton is definitely one of the strongest cards from Surging Sparks, allowing us to prepare another attacker when our Raikou V gets KO’d.
Landen Kaelter prevailed over Kenneth Gilman in an all-Miraidon ex finals at the Sacramento Regional using this list:
1st Place Regional Sacramento, CA – Landen Kaetler
Pokémon: 15
2 Miraidon ex SVI 81
2 Iron Hands ex PAR 70
1 Raikou V BRS 48
1 Raichu V BRS 45
1 Magnemite PAL 65
1 Magneton SSP 59
1 Pikachu ex SSP 57
1 Latias ex SSP 76
1 Mew ex MEW 151
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Squawkabilly ex PAL 169
1 Lumineon V BRS 40
1 Iron Bundle PAR 56
Trainer: 28
4 Arven OBF 186
4 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
4 Electric Generator SVI 170
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
3 Ultra Ball SVI 196
1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146
1 Counter Catcher PAR 160
1 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Secret Box TWM 163
1 Bravery Charm PAL 173
1 Rescue Board TEF 159
1 Forest Seal Stone SIT 156
2 Area Zero Underdepths SCR 131
Energy: 17
16 Lightning Energy SVE 12
1 Double Turbo Energy BRS 151
Klawf Terapagos ex
As players continue to gravitate towards Miraidon ex due to Landen Kaelter’s success, some enterprising players brought out a new deck to the format: Klawf with Terapagos ex.
As a primarily single prize deck, which is to say, its main attackers usually aren’t Pokémon VSTAR or Pokémon ex, the deck sometimes fails to reach higher numbers to one-hit KO (OHKO) important Pokémon in the format.
With the addition of Terapagos ex, the deck can now reach some important number breakpoints through the turtle’s Unified Beatdown attack, paired with eight benched Pokémon through Area Zero Underdepths. We also run a Binding Mochi Pokémon Tool card which increases our damage as long as we’re Poisoned.
We can achieve the Poison Status Condition through Brute Bonnet‘s Toxic Powder ability. When paired with Radiant Hisuian Sneasler, this gives us more reach!
The deck has a lot of moving parts, but it has an answer to most matchups. And thus, it requires a little bit more reps as its play lines are a bit more nuanced.
Here’s the deck piloted by Richard Yannow, one of the list’s innovators:
24th Place Regional Sacramento, CA – Richard Yannow
Pokémon: 17
2 Klawf PAR 105
2 Terapagos ex SCR 128
2 Pecharunt PR-SV 149
2 Brute Bonnet PAR 123
1 Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex TWM 141
1 Hisuian Electrode V PR-SW 294
1 Radiant Hisuian Sneasler LOR 123
1 Lumineon V BRS 40
1 Squawkabilly ex PAL 169
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Oranguru V ASR 133
1 Latias ex SSP 76
1 Pecharunt ex SFA 39
Trainer: 39
3 Arven OBF 186
3 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
1 Carmine TWM 145
1 Iono PAL 185
1 Professor’s Research SVI 189
1 Colress’s Tenacity SFA 57
1 Briar SCR 132
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
3 Night Stretcher SFA 61
2 Ultra Ball SVI 196
2 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146
2 Switch Cart ASR 154
1 Lost Vacuum LOR 162
1 Precious Trolley SSP 185
3 Ancient Booster Energy Capsule TEF 140
3 Binding Mochi SFA 55
2 Forest Seal Stone SIT 156
1 Supereffective Glasses ASR 152
4 Area Zero Underdepths SCR 131
Energy: 4
4 Double Turbo Energy BRS 151
Regidrago VSTAR
While its time in the limelight seems to finally be fading, Regidrago VSTAR remains a solid deck, specially for those who want a bit more agency in the game. The deck also has one of the highest Day 2 conversions in the two Surging Sparks-legal regionals so far, which makes it a great pick in the hands of a skilled player.
With the Apex Dragon attack, we can use any attack from our Dragon Pokémon in the discard pile. These options range from Dragapult ex‘s Phantom Dive, Hisuian Goodra VSTAR‘s Rolling Iron, Giratina VSTAR‘s Lost Impact, and Kyurem‘s Trifrost, ensuring we always have an answer to whatever the opponent plays.
The deck employs three Teal Mask Ogerpon ex. With the Teal Dance ability, we can attach more than one energy a turn, which lets us attack on turn two through Energy Switch.
The Legacy Star VSTAR Power also proves clutch, as we can utilize this to grab literally any two cards from our discard pile, ensuring we have the right answer to any situation.
Here’s the deck piloted by James Cox and Brent Tonisson, two highly-ranked players who have brought Regidrago VSTAR to high finishes:
5th Place Regional Sacramento, CA – Brent Tonisson
Pokémon: 20
3 Regidrago V SIT 135
3 Regidrago VSTAR SIT 136
3 Teal Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 25
2 Dragapult ex TWM 130
1 Giratina VSTAR LOR 131
1 Kyurem SFA 47
1 Hoothoot SCR 114
1 Noctowl SCR 115
1 Squawkabilly ex PAL 169
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Mew ex MEW 151
1 Cleffa OBF 80
1 Radiant Charizard CRZ 20
Trainer: 30
4 Professor’s Research SVI 189
2 Iono PAL 185
2 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
4 Energy Switch SVI 173
3 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
2 Super Rod PAL 188
1 Canceling Cologne ASR 136
1 Switch SVI 194
1 Prime Catcher TEF 157
1 Jamming Tower TWM 153
1 Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155
Energy: 10
7 Grass Energy SVE 9
3 Fire Energy SVE 10
Gholdengo ex
With a simple gameplan, Gholdengo ex just wants to Knock Out Pokémon – and fast. With its Make It Rain attack, it can keep on discarding Basic Energy cards in hand to reach whatever HP the opponents’ Pokémon have.
We pull out all our Basic Energy from the deck through the new ACE SPEC Energy Search Pro, setting us up for a huge attack. We follow this up in subsequent turns with Superior Energy Retrieval to have more reach to close out the game.
Some variants also use a miser’s copy of Togekiss to effectively “cheat out” one more Prize through a coin flip. Even if this effect triggers once a game, it already pads out our prize map – a concept where a player plans out which Pokémon they need to KO to achieve victory.
Gholdengo ex is also resistant to hand disruption such as Iono, as we can simply use our Coin Bonus ability and Radiant Greninja‘s Concealed Cards to draw up again. It’s a resilient deck which only struggles against decks that can stack huge amounts of HP. It’s also one of the decks we hyped up going into the Surging Sparks season.
Here’s the deck piloted by Victor de Velasco at the Sacramento Regional:
3rd Place Regional Sacramento, CA – Victor de Velasco
Pokémon: 14
4 Gimmighoul SSP 97
4 Gholdengo ex PAR 139
1 Togepi SSP 70
1 Togekiss SSP 72
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Radiant Greninja ASR 46
1 Manaphy BRS 41
1 Iron Bundle PAR 56
Trainer: 36
3 Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking TEF 145
3 Irida ASR 147
1 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
1 Thorton LOR 167
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
4 Superior Energy Retrieval PAL 189
4 Night Stretcher SFA 61
3 Nest Ball SVI 181
2 Rare Candy SVI 191
2 Ultra Ball SVI 196
1 Energy Search Pro SSP 176
1 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
1 Lost Vacuum LOR 162
1 Counter Catcher PAR 160
1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146
1 Canceling Cologne ASR 136
3 PokéStop PGO 68
Energy: 10
3 Metal Energy SVE 16
1 Grass Energy SVE 9
1 Water Energy SVE 11
1 Fire Energy SVE 10
1 Lightning Energy SVE 12
1 Psychic Energy SVE 13
1 Fighting Energy SVE 14
1 Darkness Energy SVE 15
These five decks are certain to stay in the Pokémon TCG Surging Sparks format and should be top considerations to bring or counter when we pick a deck for any tournament. However, there are still some other decks, such as Palkia VSTAR with Terapagos ex, Dragapult ex with Iron Thorns ex, and Turbo Gardevoir ex, which are all decks that have shown some promise. There’s still definitely many decks to be explored in the Surging Sparks format, so we’ll have to see how the meta shapes up in the coming weeks!
For more Surging Sparks content, check out the 10 best cards from the set, or dig through the entire set’s card image gallery here.
