🔥 CONNECT WITH US ON TIKTOK @ULTIMASUPPLY.INC!

Top Pokémon TCG Decks Post-Worlds 2026: Gholdengo ex &

, by Shopify API , 5 min reading time

Haunting the Meta: Atlanta Regs and Post-Rotation Analysis - Top TCG Decks for the 2026 Season

The 2026 Season Begins: A New Pokémon TCG Meta Emerges

Hello trainers! The 2026 season is upon us, kicking off with several Regional Championships. The World Championships in Anaheim dramatically reshaped the format, and it's fascinating to see how the pokemon tcg meta is adapting. Get ready for a wild ride as we delve into the best tcg decks dominating the competitive scene!

#1: Gholdengo ex - The Golden Standard

Despite narrowly missing the World Championship semifinals, gholdengo ex made a colossal impact. It was the most played deck in both day one and day two, a testament to its consistency and power. Every player at Worlds likely spent countless hours facing off against gholdengo ex in preparation. The deck's strength lies in its consistency, fueled by genesect ex ability (Metal Signal) and gholdengo ex's coin bonus ability, which often leaves significant room for tech cards. Several variants emerged at Worlds. Piper Lepine's Top 8 list, featuring a Togekiss line, is a prime example, aiming to secure extra Prize cards with each knockout. In a meta where many decks are trying to outpace gholdengo ex, strategies that manipulate the Prize trade become invaluable. Expect to see gholdengo ex deck heavily played and targeted in upcoming tournaments.

#2: Dragapult/Dusknoir - Phantom Dive Power

Dragapult/Dusknoir achieved impressive results at Worlds, exemplified by Justin Newdorf's second-place finish. Many successful lists now incorporate neo upper energy and the hilda trainer card to accelerate setup. The core strategy involves using Budew's Itchy Pollen to disrupt the opponent, followed by a devastating combination of phantom dive attack and Cursed Blast to clear their board. This approach is surprisingly effective against a wide range of matchups. Justin Newdorf's list included two copies of the jamming tower card, a strategic choice to counter both Gardevoir and Gholdengo ex. Jamming Tower can trap Gholdengo's Genesect ex active, preventing movement with Air Balloon, and also disables Gardevoir's Technical Machine: Evolution, hindering their Gardevoir ex setup when under Budew's Item Lock. This dragapult dusknoir deck appears simple, but mastery unlocks its true potential.

#3: Gardevoir ex - The Resilient Champion

Gardeovir ex seemingly never fades, as Riley McKay's World Championship victory proves. Different gardevoir ex list variations exist, often featuring Jellicent ex or Drifloon SVI with numerous Bravery Charms. Riley McKay opted for a different approach, including Flutter Mane, four Munkidoris, and technical machine devolution for a spread-damage strategy. Gardevoir ex utilizes the psychic embrace ability to attach Energy and leverage the self-damage for munkidori adrena brain. Flutter Mane's Midnight Fluttering ability also nullifies Jellicent's Oceanic Curse and enhances the effectiveness of Iono against gholdengo ex by negating the active Gholdengo's coin bonus ability. Despite a slower early game, Gardevoir's comeback potential makes it a formidable force.

#4: Raging Bolt ex - Unchanged and Unbowed

Raging Bolt ex remains a strong contender. Its core strategy has remained consistent since rotation and the release of Journey Together: an aggressive approach utilizing the non-ex Raging Bolt to snipe the opponent's bench or Raging Bolt ex to deliver one-hit knockouts. The Noctowl engine and Fan Rotom still facilitate board setup. Shizuki Nakagawa's third-place Worlds list included valuable Pokémon tech cards like Koraidon and chien pao snow sink. Koraidon offers a chance to overcome the Crustle Stall deck's Mysterious Rock Inn ability, while Chien-Pao's chien pao snow sink allows discarding area zero underdepths and removing damaged Pokémon from the bench to prevent multi-Prize turns. Many players have remained loyal to raging bolt ex deck, and that is unlikely to change in the 2026 season!

#5: Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex - Rising from the Ashes

Before the World Championships, charizard pidgeot deck had limited success (except for Gabriel Fernandez's NAIC win). However, it performed strongly at Worlds. Junya Tanaka's fourth-place list incorporated a small dusknoir pokemon line to pressure passive opponents. The ACE SPEC of choice was maximum belt ace spec, improving the Dragapult ex matchup by enabling a knockout after the opponent takes three Prize cards. Many charizard pidgeot deck lists also include Munkidori for its munkidori adrena brain, providing additional answers to damage-spread decks. Chi yu attacker is a single-Prize attacker and effective against gholdengo ex. Charizard/Pidgeot seems underrated, and might achieve more success.

#6: N's Zoroark ex - The Dark Horse

Ns zoroark ex generated minimal hype before the World Championships, yet two players piloted it to the Top 8! Its weakness against gholdengo ex was a concern, but players addressed it with innovative solutions. Marco Cifuentes used Toedscruel, while Mateusz Łaszkiewicz employed cornerstone mask ogerpon as toedscruel zoroark counter. With Trade, the deck has a built-in draw engine. N's Reshiram's Outrage punishes opponents who attack into Zoroark. Except for Raging Bolt ex, which can one-hit KO Zoroark, the deck boasts solid matchups and might become a key contender in the pokemon tcg meta.

Atlanta Regionals and Dragapult Deck Discussion

For further analysis on the evolving pokemon tcg meta, be sure to check out podcasts like S2 Ep31: TANNER HURLEY JOINS TO DICUSS DRAGAPULT WITHOUT DUSKNOIR | ATLANTA REGIONAL RECAP | CRISPINS CORNER, episode three. You can delve deeper into the dragapult dusknoir deck strategy and its variations. Also, don't miss S2 Ep24: TOP 4 FINISHER XANDER PERO DISCUSSES THE FORMAT & GHOLDENGO EX | EUIC RESULTS REVIEW for even more insights into the decks that shaped the early 2026 season.

This post covered worlds championship decks and 2026 season decks. We hope you enjoyed our analysis of the best tcg decks. Happy battling!

Visit Ultima Supply to explore more collectibles.


Blog posts

© 2025 Ultima Supply, Powered by Shopify

    Login

    Forgot your password?

    Don't have an account yet?
    Create account