Hello everyone! Surging Sparks is in full swing, and while there aren't a ton of new decks from the set, a whole bunch of decks got significant upgrades with some of the new cards. The metagame is shaping up to be very different to the Stellar Crown format, so let's jump right in!

#1 Regidrago VSTAR

I still believe that Regidrago VSTAR is the best deck in Standard still. Through copying the various attacks from Dragon Pokémon in your discard pile, this deck is able to set up many ways to win faster than the opponent. The deck still operates in the same way, getting Grass Energy into play with Teal Dance, Energy Switching it to the Regidrago VSTAR and then attaching a Fire Energy to it to use Apex Dragon and copy one of the Dragon Pokémon in your discard pile. While there aren't too many new cards in this list, I have included a copy of Alolan Exeggutor ex which has seen play in Regidrago VSTAR decks for it's Swinging Sphere attack. If you've been playing Regidrago VSTAR for the past few months, sticking to it is still a great game plan for upcoming tournaments as it's not going anywhere!

#2 Charizard ex

Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex came first and second at the Stuttgart Regional Championships, and appears to have very favorable matchups outside of Regidrago VSTAR. Aarni Karjala ended up getting the win with a very similar list to what I posted up above (-1 Lost Vacuum, +1 Cleffa OBF) and most Charizard ex decklists have become very centralized with similar counts to Aarni's list. Unfair Stamp is mostly a consistency ACE SPEC, as you just want to turn your late game Arvens into draw supporters. Outside of that, you still have the Dusknoir line and Briar to take extra Prize cards in the late game, as you can use Dusknoir to put your opponent to two Prize cards remaining, letting you set up a Briar turn easily. Charizard ex's massive HP and damage output have placed this deck at the top of the metagame once again, and if you dodge Regidrago this looks like a great play going forward!

#3 Klawf Terapagos

One of the biggest surprises of the Surging Sparks format has been the rise of Klawf to the top of the metagame. While this deck initially looks like a pile with all the different Pokémon, they all fit together to give you an aggressive game plan that can potentially win the game on the first turn going first!

The game plan of the deck is to take a two-Prize KO every turn of the game, and manipulate your damage in such a way that the knockout happens in between turns due to Poison, thus preventing your opponent from using Flip the Script. Your damage comes from either Klawf's Unhinged Scissors attack or from using Terapagos ex's Unified Beatdown attack. Terapagos ex also gives this deck access to Area Zero Underdepths, letting you quickly fill your bench with the Precious Trolley ACE SPEC. You play a ton of different tools, like Ancient Booster Energy Capsule for Brute Bonnet, Binding Mochi and Forest Seal Stone, which can all be found with Oranguru V's Back Order ability. You even have Pecharunt's Toxic Subjugation ability which adds damage to Poison, letting you deal 80 damage to an opposing Pokémon on the first turn with Brute Bonnet and Radiant Hisuian Sneasler, potentially letting you take a KO without attacking going first! This deck looks like a mess at first, but all the pieces fit together to make it an aggressive attacking deck which is excellent at denying opposing uses of Flip the Script. Watch out for Klawf at your next tournament, this deck is real for sure!

#4 Gholdengo ex

Gholdengo also got a massive boost from Surging Sparks with the new ACE SPEC Energy Search Pro. It's easy to get a ton of Energy to your hand over a few turns with Earthen Vessels, however Energy Search Pro gets you up to eight Energy into your hand at once! Even getting five or six Energy is worth it, as you can find it with just an Irida or the Item slot from a Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking. Energy Search Pro makes the deck a whole lot faster at finding all its Energy, and it's consistently able to take a turn two knockout on whatever your opponent has in the active spot. Another boost the Gholdengo deck got from Surging Sparks was the inclusion of Togekiss, whose Wonder Kiss ability lets you flip a coin on each knockout and take an extra Prize if you hit heads. This deck is build to win the Prize trade by attacking fast and trying to hit Wonder Kiss flips, and it has brought Gholdengo into the forefront of the metagame!

#5 Miraidon ex

Miraidon ex had a dominating performance at the Sacramento Regional Championships, with the finals being a mirror match. The deck gained a ton of cards from Surging Sparks, with Pikachu ex being a slight upgrade to let it use Area Zero, Latias ex giving you significant mobility and Magneton attaching extra Energy to your Pokémon. The deck functions very similarly to how it always has, except with Secret Box as the ACE SPEC for additional consistency. The inclusion of Magneton in the deck also lets you play Raichu V again to take one-hit knockouts. Counter Catcher lets you use Overvolt Discharge, which gives up a Prize and puts your opponent at one Prize ahead, but they can't capitalize on it with your entirely two-Prize board. If you like taking quick knockouts, Miraidon ex would be the way to go!

#6 Gardevoir ex

Despite all the aggressive decks in the format, Gardevoir ex has managed to stick around and has seen results with a Top 4 finish at Stuttgart Regionals! The deck still takes the same strategy it used to, draw cards with Refinement, Concealed Cards and Flip the Script then power up Drifloon or Scream Tail for some big damage! This version of the list takes a different approach to setting up, with a ton of Call Bell, Arven and Precious Trolley as the ACE SPEC. This gives the deck ways to set up for a turn one Technical Machine: Evolution for two Kirlia, as well as getting Manaphy and Greninja into play. You aren't too worried about deck space with Call Bell, as you only play one Buddy-Buddy Poffin as Precious Trolley often fills that role for you. If you were a Psychic Embrace enjoyer, give this new version of Gardevoir ex a shot!

#7 Lost Zone Toolbox

One deck that I feel is underrated in the current format is Lost Zone Toolbox. While you do have a rough Reigdrago VSTAR matchup, your other matchups look great as you can aggressively use Iron Hands ex or Radiant Greninja's Moonlight Shuriken to take multiple Prize cards early. You can attack with Pikachu ex, which is great at offsetting the Prize trade due its Resolute Heart ability preventing many decks from taking a one-hit KO on it. This deck operates the same way as Lost Zone box did in the past, using Sableye and Cramorant to clean up your big attacks, but with the ability to attack with Pikachu ex and take massive knockouts early. One thing you can do with this deck is overload your Pikachu ex to prepare for an opposing Iono, as Pikachu ex only requires you to discard three Energy from it. You can then use multiple Mirage Gates and ensure you can use back-to-back Topaz Bolts through opposing disruption.

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