Will Gardevoir Dominate Pokémon TCG Worlds?
It's just a few weeks until the Pokémon Championships in Hawaii, which includes the top Pokémon TCG players in the world competing after a long season of grinding. Trainers are already speculating the meta since Shrouded Fable will be legal, but it may not change too much after all.
Shrouded Fable is the latest expansion and the TCG community felt it may shake up the meta a bit. There were new cards that had some promise, including Dusclops and Dusknoir being a new addition to Charizard decks or Colress's Experiment powering up Lost Zone decks.
The most recent tournament with Shrouded Fable, however, shows a different story.
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Gardevoir Still Going Strong Ahead of Words
Ditto Masquerade #9 was the largest online event thus far that included Shrouded Fable. Many top players were looking to this tournament to give some insight into the new meta going into Worlds. What should players expect in Hawaii?
Apparently not really anything different.
The winning deck was a Gardevoir player that went 6-1-1. A look at their deck shows that it's the usual Gardevoir deck that has been dominating for months at Regionals and NAIC with almost no change. The only addition was the Neutralization Zone ACE-SPEC stadium card.
This special stadium prevents all damage done to any Pokémon without a rule box by attacks from ex and V Pokémon. You can only have one of this card in your deck since it's an ACE-SPEC and in addition, Neutralization Zone can't be put into your hand or deck from the discard pile.
Aside from this addition, the deck is the same list we've seen dominate all season dating back to January. Gardevoir is clearly the new Mew and seems like it can't be stopped right now. This includes beating Snorlax stall, Pidgeot control, Raging Bolt Ogerpon, and Lugia Archeops. This is definitely bad news for anyone sick of seeing Gardevoir at the top.
On the other hand, the top featured no Charizard decks. Of course, this tournament is just a small glimpse at the larger overall meta and can't predict everything — especially with top players always bringing the spice last second. But it does seem shocking to not see Charizard at the top. Has this powerful deck finally been taken down?
The first big online event to feature Shrouded Fable cards was won by a Gardevoir deck. Only one new card was in the list and it was the new Neutralization Zone Ace-Spec stadium card.
— PokéStats (@pokestatstcg) August 2, 2024
You can view the results here:https://t.co/mQjHyCUk41 pic.twitter.com/ZF9LBYZ9cE
For now, trainers will have to wait and see what decks dominate at Worlds. But we can safely say that Gardevoir will definitely make a strong showing.
OLIVIA RICHMAN
Olivia is a long-time esports journalist and editor who covers just about every game but has a deep love for the FGC. Her goal is to find community-driven stories that bring a new perspective to the esports scene. In the past, she has worked for Team Liquid, Rogue, Inven Global, Dot Esports, Upcomer, and more. Outside of esports, Olivia enjoys Kirby, Pokemon TCG, Fallout, and writing science fiction. She can be found trying out new foods, traveling, or hanging out with her two orange cats. Fun fact: Olivia can do some video game and cartoon impressions!