While the rest of the world waits for the Pokémon Trading Card Game (or TCG)’s latest set, Prismatic Evolutions, to release, some countries in East Asia have already been playing in this meta for a month or so now.
Released as Terastal Fest ex in Japan and other East Asian countries, the metagame has dramatically shifted due to the inclusion of Budew in several lists, which severely hinders the turns of decks that commonly rely on Item cards to pull off their game plans (henceforth called “item lock”). This has caused a lot of Item-reliant decks such as Charizard ex to completely fall off the meta, or adapt to the changing times.
With this shift in the metagame, let’s look at the standout archetypes which have made a mark in huge Prismatic Evolutions-legal tournaments, as seen in the recent Osaka Champions League in Japan (5,000 players) and Premier Ball League in Hong Kong (1,067 players).
Archaludon ex – Dialga VSTAR
One of the slowest decks in the meta, what Archaludon ex lacks in firepower it makes up for with its sheer bulk. Standing at a beefy 300 HP and being a non-Tera Pokémon (relevant for the upcoming Regigigas card), there’s very little that can take it down in one hit, especially after it pulls off its Metal Defender attack, which removes its weakness.
The deck also runs several copies of Professor Turo’s Scenario and its ACE SPEC of choice being Scoop Up Cyclone to effectively reset damage counters, proc its Assemble Alloy ability once again, or even function as a cheeky retreat if the opponent tries to trap an Archaludon ex with no energies in the active.
While its offensive power is not the highest, it can take advantage of damage counters on it through Relicanth‘s Memory Dive ability, which allows us to use Duraludon‘s Raging Hammer attack, reaching key numbers to take out certain threats in the format.
Due to its bulk, Dragapult ex has a hard time taking it down, while the Archaludon ex decks also run Jamming Tower to prevent one-hit KOs from Gardevoir ex players’ Drifloon with a Bravery Charm.
Yota Wakai piloted Archaludon ex – Dialga VSTAR to an exhilirating championship finish at Champions League Osaka, coming back from a five-Prize deficit against Ancient Box to clinch the title.
1st Place Champions League Osaka – Yota Wakai
Pokémon: 15
4 Duraludon SCR 106
4 Archaludon ex SSP 130
2 Origin Forme Dialga V ASR 113
2 Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 114
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Radiant Greninja ASR 46
1 Relicanth TEF 84
Trainer: 35
4 Professor’s Research SVI 189
3 Iono PAL 185
3 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
2 Professor Turo’s Scenario PAR 171
1 Thorton LOR 167
4 Nest Ball SVI 181
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
4 Night Stretcher SFA 61
3 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
2 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
1 Counter Catcher PAR 160
1 Pal Pad SVI 182
1 Scoop Up Cyclone TWM 162
2 Jamming Tower TWM 153
Energy: 10
10 Metal Energy SVE 16
Gardevoir ex
One of the best users of Budew, Gardevoir ex has risen to the top of the Prismatic Evolutions metagame as it can draw itself out of a bad hand without relying on any Item cards, simply due to Kirlia‘s Refinement ability.
This is bolstered by Technical Machine: Evolution, which allows for a quick setup that isn’t hindered by Budew’s item lock.
Some lists, such as Champions League Osaka Top 14 Taisei Kato’s, even forgo Budew altogether. On the other hand, French-Brazilian player Fabien Pujol, who has made it to the top 16 of the World Championships and 25th in Champions League Osaka, opted to play one copy. In the Lake of Rage podcast, he revealed the game plan was to use TM Evo when he could, and if not, he would instead search up Budew and item lock until he could set up.
The deck primarily plays around Scream Tail and Drifloon as its main attackers, taking key KOs as long as they have Bravery Charm attached. The two Munkidoris also help out in this plan, adding 60 damage more per turn for some extra reach.
14th Place Champions League Osaka – Taisei Kato
Pokémon: 16
4 Ralts ASR 60
4 Kirlia SIT 68
2 Gardevoir ex SVI 86
2 Munkidori TWM 95
1 Drifloon SVI 89
1 Scream Tail PAR 86
1 Cresselia LOR 74
1 Radiant Greninja ASR 46
Trainer: 34
4 Arven OBF 186
2 Iono PAL 185
2 Professor Turo’s Scenario PAR 171
1 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
4 Call Bell SSP 165
3 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
2 Ultra Ball SVI 196
2 Super Rod PAL 188
2 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146
1 Counter Catcher PAR 160
1 Precious Trolley SSP 185
2 Technical Machine: Evolution PAR 178
2 Bravery Charm PAL 173
3 Artazon PAL 171
Energy: 10
7 Psychic Energy SVE 13
3 Darkness Energy SVE 15
Dragapult ex – Dusknoir
Another contender for the best user of Budew, Dragapult ex – Dusknoir is definitely the deck to beat in the Prismatic Evolutions metagame, alongside Gardevoir ex. As such, most decks teched heavily against these two decks, often including copies of Jamming Tower to shut down TM Evo and Rescue Board, alongside Munkidori to move spread damage away from their Pokémon.
The Dragapult ex game plan is not the most straightforward, as it relies on playing from behind and then taking multiple Prize KOs at once. The deck accomplishes this through Dragapult ex’s Phantom Dive attack, which allows us to spread six damage counters on the opponent’s Pokémon. We can then use Counter Catcher the following turn to bring up a weakened Pokémon, use Radiant Alakazam to fix some more damage math, and then grab four to six Prize cards in a single turn!
While the deck appreciates Rare Candy, it can still have a resilient game plan under item lock, as once again its Stage 1 evolution card Drakloak allows us to filter our decks for the cards we need.
3rd Place Champions League Osaka – Ryunosuke Murata
Pokémon: 21
4 Dreepy TWM 128
4 Drakloak TWM 129
3 Dragapult ex TWM 130
2 Duskull BRS 60
1 Dusclops SFA 19
2 Dusknoir SFA 20
2 Budew PRE
1 Klefki SVI 96
1 Radiant Alakazam SIT 59
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
Trainer: 32
4 Arven OBF 186
3 Iono PAL 185
2 Lance SIT 159
2 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
1 Professor’s Research SVI 189
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
3 Nest Ball SVI 181
3 Rare Candy SVI 191
2 Ultra Ball SVI 196
2 Counter Catcher PAR 160
1 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
1 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Switch SVI 194
1 Sparkling Crystal SCR 142
1 Technical Machine: Evolution PAR 178
1 Rescue Board TEF 159
Energy: 7
4 Psychic Energy SVE 13
3 Fire Energy SVE 10
Lugia VSTAR
While other decks struggled or had to adopt to item lock, Lugia VSTAR has historically been unaffected by it, as its main engine can be set up entirely through Supporter cards. In fact, during the couple of weeks where Banette ex was one of the best rogue decks, Lugia VSTAR boasted an absurdly high win-rate versus it, making the deck a great pick in a metagame full of decks that want to prevent you from using Items.
Although Lugia VSTAR loves using Ultra Ball to discard two Archeops, we can still use Lugia V’s Read the Wind to manually discard them, or just a Professor’s Research to dump everything in one go.
The deck is also one of the best users of the new Regigigas card. With its Jewel Break attack, it can hit 330 damage against Tera Pokémon – a key number against Dragapult ex and Charizard ex.
Other than that, the deck hasn’t changed much, but benefitted from the lack of Miraidon ex and Iron Thorns ex in the field.
4th Place Champions League Osaka – Kiriya Shima
Pokémon: 21
3 Lugia V SIT 138
3 Lugia VSTAR SIT 139
4 Archeops SIT 147
2 Lumineon V BRS 40
2 Minccino PRE
2 Cinccino TEF 137
1 Regigigas PRE
1 Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex TWM 141
1 Iron Hands ex PAR 70
1 Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 64
1 Squawkabilly ex PAL 169
Trainer: 23
3 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
3 Professor’s Research SVI 189
2 Iono PAL 185
1 Carmine TWM 145
1 Jacq SVI 175
1 Thorton LOR 167
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
4 Capturing Aroma SIT 153
1 Nest Ball SVI 181
1 Great Ball PAL 183
1 Mesagoza SVI 178
1 Jamming Tower TWM 153
Energy: 16
4 Gift Energy LOR 171
4 Jet Energy PAL 190
4 Mist Energy TEF 161
3 Double Turbo Energy BRS 151
1 Legacy Energy TWM 167
Ceruledge ex
One of the dark horses in the metagame, Ceruledge ex was always relegated as a meme or C-tier deck, as it relies on a completely linear game plan: just dump energy cards in the discard pile and swing for huge amounts of damage.
However, the Prismatic Evolutions metagame seems like the ideal spot for the deck to flourish due to several reasons. Ceruledge ex boasts 270 HP, which makes it difficult for Dragapult ex to pick off two at the same time, even with the help of Radiant Alakazam. At the same time, Scream Tail also has a difficult time reaching these numbers without the help of Munkidori. The list even runs Jamming Tower to shut down Bravery Charm, as this Pokémon Tool is one of the few ways for Gardevoir ex decks to one shot the opposing Ceruledge ex — and serves double duty to also deny TM Evo value.
The deck also runs Radiant Greninja and Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR as a means to snipe opposing Drakloaks and Kirlias, making it an easy way to score two Prizes while disrupting the opponent’s game plan.
Tam Wing Chung showcased the power of the deck in Hong Kong’s Premier Ball League finals, where he beat a Dragapult ex deck 6-0 in Prize cards, marking the first time Ceruledge ex has won a major tournament!
1st Place Premier Ball League Hong Kong – Tam Wing Chung
Pokémon: 13
3 Charcadet SSP 32
3 Ceruledge ex SSP 36
1 Origin Forme Palkia V ASR 39
1 Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR ASR 40
1 Radiant Greninja ASR 46
1 Lumineon V BRS 40
2 Squawkabilly ex PAL 169
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
Trainer: 29
3 Professor’s Research SVI 189
3 Carmine TWM 145
2 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
1 Iono PAL 185
1 Briar SCR 132
4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
3 Nest Ball SVI 181
1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146
3 Night Stretcher SFA 61
3 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
1 Pal Pad SVI 182
1 Prime Catcher TEF 157
1 PokéStop PGO 68
2 Jamming Tower TWM 153
Energy: 18
8 Fire Energy SVE 10
6 Water Energy SVE 11
4 Jet Energy PAL 190
While we’ve only listed five contenders, Ancient Box has also proven its place in the metagame, with several high finishes and boasting a great win-rate against Gardevoir ex. Meanwhile, Charizard ex has fallen from favor, but some enterprising players have started to experiment with Grand Tree to still find a way to play Pidgeot ex and find a way to maneuver the deck to a win. Regidrago VSTAR continues to be an unpopular deck in Asia, so we’ll have to see how the West adapts the deck once Prismatic Evolutions releases worldwide.
Keep an eye on our Prismatic Evolutions card gallery to see the English language cards as they’re revealed.
