The 2024 Pokémon World Championships runs from Aug. 16 to 18, and hundreds of trainers are trying to prove their Pokémon TGC deck is the best of them all—but which are the undisputed best decks heading into the tournament?
Since NAIC, Pokémon TCG‘s Shrouded Fable expansion set was released on Aug. 1, bringing with it a host of strong cards that flipped the metagame on its head. As such, older decks are back with new support, giving us the healthiest pool of different deck types in years.
Multiple decks could win Worlds, but that doesn’t mean some decks aren’t better than others. As such, in no particular order, here are the best decks we expect to dominate the 2024 World Championships.
Gardevoir ex
The queen of NAIC, Gardevoir ex, is one of the most formidable decks heading into Worlds and only got better thanks to the recent release of Shrouded Fable. Some decks keep core cards, like Minkidori, that helped the deck dominate at NAIC, while others use Duskull variants to do more chip damage in the mirror match.
Charizard/Pidgeot ex
Charizard ex-decks make a return after being a non-starter at NAIC. Like other decks on this list, several recent cards in Shrouded Fable, including Fezandipiti ex and the Duskull line, have made the deck viable again just in time for Worlds. Usually, you’ll see a variant of the deck using the Dusckull line, slipping in a Fezandipiti ex, or even bringing in Dragapult ex for a curveball.
Lugia VStar
Lugia VStar has been a staple for many years, and is likely making its last Worlds appearance before a potential rotation change in early 2025. Thanks to all the new Energy card types in recent years, Lugia VStar with Cinccino has dominated and has always done well at events. But does it have one final hurrah to secure a World Championship win?
Ogerpon/Raging Bolt ex
Ogerpon and Raging Bolt ex is a recent deck that has proven formidable on the international circuit, with the deck winning Seniors at NAIC 2014 despite only existing for less than a month. Not much about the deck has changed since NAIC, with players having to equip a bunch of energy to deal massive damage, but now that players have had more time to get used to it, it could be the one to take it all in Hawaii.
Lost Box Regidraco
Last but not least, no top decklist would be complete without mentioning a Lost Box deck—this time the Regidraco variant. The Regidraco variant has seen tons of play at local and online tournaments in the run-up to Worlds and is shaping up to be the anti-meta deck of the tournament.
Lost Box will always do well at any event due to its wealth of options on how you build it, but with this potentially being Lost Box’s last Worlds, how far will it go?
