Meta Recap - August 21st

It’s Friday! Yesterday was full of conversations about the new Team Rocket’s Ascension trailer. Maddy has plenty to say about the revealed cards, and I know that many have strong opinions about the upcoming set.

A warning for those that have already judged B4a, good or bad - We won’t know the impact of TRA until it’s in our hands. Shining Revelry wasn’t well received until it was released and we discovered how strong the unrevealed Giratina ex would be. I terribly misjudged both Mega Rayquaza ex and Vespiquen ex from this past set, thinking they wouldn’t have a major impact in the competitive scene and boy was I wrong. In fact, I would argue that most sets subverted at least one expectation when released. It wasn’t until we started playing with the cards that we discovered the set’s true power level.

My one wish for TRA is that it is not as game defining as Secluded Springs, which brought us the dominant Suicune ex with Greninja archetype for two months before we received the B Series. My favorite mini-sets were those that added on to an already healthy, competitive scene instead of completely changing it, such as Extradimensional Crisis, Wisdom of Sea and Sky, and Everyday Wonders.

But that’s not why we’re here today! Instead we’re looking at the past week to prepare for this weekend’s final PMPT in Ruler of the Skies. Though there weren’t as many tournaments that qualified for this article, there was a major shift in the meta that shouldn’t be overlooked. Let’s take a look the the most promising decks from August 17th to today in standard tournaments with 32+ players:

Meta Overview

1. ×2Baxcalibur
2. ×2Frigibax
3. ×2Suicune ex
4. ×1Chien-Pao ex
5. ×2Giant Cape
6. ×2Poké Ball
7. ×2Professor's Research
8. ×2Rare Candy
9. ×1Copycat
10. ×1Field Blower
11. ×1Inflatable Boat
12. ×1Mars
13. ×1Soothing Shore

See this deck on PocketMads

Suicune Baxcalibur was the most played deck in the past three days, taking up 10% of the metashare. It finished in the top 8 twice in the TBC X TDL-The Dexter Morgan Special, with eLMarcoO taking the whole tournament. It also took second at the Breakfast Club Kelp Classic #7, with making up to fifth place in the The TCGP Arena #3.

The matchup data looks very promising for the perennial deck; in the past seven days it had sub-50% winrates into only two of the most prominent decks, but moved up to having a single negative matchup into Vespiquen. You really can’t do better than SuiBax if you’re looking for a consistent deck in both the tournament scene or on ranked. A single inclusion of Soothing Shore is all you need to keep up with most of the bench sniping decks out there right now.

1. ×2Combee
2. ×2Shuckle ex
3. ×2Vespiquen ex
4. ×1Teal Mask Ogerpon ex
5. ×2Copycat
6. ×2Fragrant Forest
7. ×2Leaf Cape
8. ×2Professor's Research
9. ×2X Speed
10. ×1Cyrus
11. ×1Field Blower
12. ×1Sabrina

See this deck on PocketMads

FrogEX | Léo took Vespiquen to first place in The TCGP Arena #3, while Nifaa did the same at the Breakfast Club Kelp Classic #7 with a staggering 8-2 finish. The Queen Bee has a 54% overall performance in the past seven days, but jumped up to 57% in the past three. It is also the third most played deck this week.

Unlike many other decks in the game, there still isn’t one deck to rule them all with Vespi. Léo brought two Shuckle exs while Nifaa when one Shuckle, one Pheromosa. More decks are now slotting in an extra X Speed. A few decks are splitting the Combees in favor of having the one from Space-Time Smackdown.

1. ×2Eevee ex
2. ×2Feebas
3. ×2Milotic ex
4. ×1Chien-Pao ex
5. ×1Vaporeon
6. ×1Vaporeon ex
7. ×2Copycat
8. ×2Poké Ball
9. ×2Professor's Research
10. ×2Wallace
11. ×1Elegant Cape
12. ×1Field Blower
13. ×1Soothing Shore

See this deck on PocketMads

Syr piloted the only Vaporeon/Milotic deck to the finish line in the KnowticeTkO x TBC Survivor Challenge two days ago with eight wins and only two losses under their belt. It K.O.‘d many of the top performing decks of this week, only avoiding grass types.

This was a cook from last season that saw some play, but never had the momentum to become meta relevant. That being said, it’s clear that Soothing Shore has upgraded many decks, and the ability to swing with any of the Pokemon you have is incredibly useful. Sabrina has become more played as the season developed, so it makes sense that a Sabrina every turn with Vaporeon ex would be strong right now. As always, Chien-Pao ex is the finisher, but it’s also great that there are enough tricks up this deck’s sleeve to manage if Pao comes online too late.

1. ×2Butterfree
2. ×2Caterpie
3. ×2Metapod
4. ×1Grovyle
5. ×1Mega Sceptile ex
6. ×1Treecko
7. ×2Fragrant Forest
8. ×2Professor's Research
9. ×2Quick-Grow Extract
10. ×1Copycat
11. ×1Cyrus
12. ×1Erika
13. ×1Leaf Cape
14. ×1Sabrina

See this deck on PocketMads

LiquidHunter finished first with an impressive nine wins, two losses in The Breakfast Club x Knowtice Blast Off with the resurgence of Mega Sceptile with Butterfree! Though the archetype has a 47% overall performance, Liquid navigated a field of Suicunes, Mega Lucarios, and sleep to victory.

I think this is the Mega Sceptile I’d play on the ladder right now. Having an aggressive start with a Caterpie that quick grows before being knocked out by Deceptive Needle gives the deck legs in ranked. I don’t know about you, but it seems like grass players always have their second Fragrant Forest in their hand the same round I bump their first one off the field. It’s a consistent deck that will surely see play this weekend.

1. ×2Froakie
2. ×2Greninja
3. ×2Oricorio
4. ×2Copycat
5. ×2Cyrus
6. ×2Lucky Ice Pop
7. ×2Professor's Research
8. ×2Rare Candy
9. ×2Soothing Shore
10. ×1Giant Cape
11. ×1Poké Ball

See this deck on PocketMads

I discussed this deck in detail in my previous article, but since it did win an eighty-nine player tournament it’s worth resharing! Greninja Oricorio has found a sweet spot in this meta because of the now-thrice-mentioned Shore stadium and no “finisher” Pokemon. This is as streamlined as it comes.

Many of the top decks have answers to the yellow bird, but this oppressive deck finds a way to stick around.

1. ×2Altaria
2. ×2Dragonair
3. ×2Dratini
4. ×2Swablu
5. ×1Mega Rayquaza ex
6. ×2Copycat
7. ×2Poké Ball
8. ×2Professor's Research
9. ×2Rainbow Cave
10. ×1Cyrus
11. ×1Penny
12. ×1Sabrina

See this deck on PocketMads

The Gouging Fire version of Mega Ray still stands strong, however 𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗧 | Koe piloted the Dragon Altaria variant to first in the Lagoon Crew Mega Wars Standard. With only one loss the entire day, Koe faced against a wide field of good decks, including a rematch with the vespiquen it struggled against during Swiss.

The absolutely craziest inclusion is Penny. Penny works best in an open decklist environment, and with a meta where the supporter slots are very refined. It obviously worked here, and I love to see it!

Notable Findings

This week people are returning to Sabrina over Repel, with an interesting 1-for-1 swap with a Cyrus. Mega Charizard with Entei Is making a comeback by making top eight three times in the past seven days.

Oh, and then there’s this:

1. ×2Mareep
2. ×1Ampharos
3. ×1Cleffa
4. ×1Flaaffy
5. ×1Mega Ampharos ex
6. ×1Pichu
7. ×2Poké Ball
8. ×2Professor's Research
9. ×2Rare Candy
10. ×1Copycat
11. ×1Cyrus
12. ×1Field Blower
13. ×1Lillie
14. ×1Lucky Ice Pop
15. ×1Mesagoza
16. ×1Pokémon Center Lady

See this deck on PocketMads

Tesla20 cooked up a Mega Ampharos ex list with Cleffa and Mesagoza - all cards I don’t see at the top often - and brought home a silver for the electric sheep. I really don’t know what to say; the newest card in this deck is from Pulsing Aura. That’s fine for most decks that have been around for a bit, but to see one pop up out of nowhere without much new tech is worthy of an inclusion in this list.

What’s your favorite deck from this past week? Let me know on Discord, and I’ll see you at PMPT #43 or on the Ladder!