After a year full of incredible Pokémon competitions all over the world, the 2017 Championship Series season will culminate in Anaheim, CA, at the 2017 Pokémon World Championships. Players from all over the world will be battling in a three-day competition for more than $500,000 in prizes, including a $25,000 top prize in the Pokémon TCG events. It’s an invitation-only event, which means the competitors at the World Championships earned their chance to be crowned World Champion by performing well at tournaments throughout the season.
After the thrilling results from the North American International Championships, players had a pretty good idea of what decks to expect in the metagame. But that might change with the addition of a brand-new expansion: Sun & Moon—Burning Shadows. With over 140 new cards being added to the Standard format, something is bound to change. To help you follow along with our live stream on Twitch.tv/Pokemon, here are some of the strategies you might see at the upcoming Pokémon TCG World Championships.
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Trashalanche
Trashalanche
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5Psychic Energynrg1 30
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4Double Colorless Energysm1 136
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4Rainbow Energysm1 137
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4Nxy10 105
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4Professor Sycamorexy9 107
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1Brigettexy8 134
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1Guzmasm3 115
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1Lysandrexy7 78
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1Teammatesxy5 141
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4Choice Bandsm2 121
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4Float Stonexy8 137
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4Ultra Ballsm1 135
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4VS Seekerxy4 109
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2Field Blowersm2 125
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1Rescue Stretchersm2 130
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1Super Rodxy8 149
Fresh off Tord Reklev’s big win at the North American International Championships, the Trashalanche deck with Garbodor will be on everyone’s radar heading into the World Championships. This deck, which also runs Drampa-GX and Tapu Lele-GX, is all about consistency and efficiency. The other Garbodor with the Garbotoxin Ability gives an added element of disruption, rounding out a deck that’s tough to beat—even without any major additions from the latest expansion.
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Decidueye
Decidueye
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4Double Colorless Energysm1 136
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4Grass Energynrg1 26
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4Nxy10 105
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4Professor Sycamorexy9 107
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2Acerolasm3 112
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1Guzmasm3 115
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1Lysandrexy7 78
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4Forest of Giant Plantsxy7 74
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4Ultra Ballsm1 135
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3Trainers' Mailxy6 92
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2Float Stonexy8 137
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2Level Ballxy7 76
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2Revitalizerg1 70
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1Field Blowersm2 125
Just when it looked like Decidueye-GX was falling out of the Standard format, it had two strong performances at Internationals from runner-up John Kettler and former World Champion Igor Costa. With the impending Standard format rotation and the latest update to the Expanded format banned list, some might see this as a last chance to use the Forest of Giant Plants Stadium card in competitive play. The version that runs Vileplume will welcome more useful versions of Oddish and Gloom, plus the debut of Acerola, but otherwise it hasn’t been updated very much. Others may move away from Vileplume toward a focus on Alolan Ninetales-GX, which can help cover a Weakness to Fire-type Pokémon.
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Volcanion
Volcanion
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13Fire Energynrg1 27
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4Professor Sycamorexy9 107
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2Guzmasm3 115
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2Kiawesm3 116
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2Nxy10 105
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1Lysandrexy7 78
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2Brooklet Hillsm2 120
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4Ultra Ballsm1 135
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4VS Seekerxy4 109
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3Fighting Fury Beltxy9 99
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3Float Stonexy8 137
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2Field Blowersm2 125
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2Max Elixirxy9 102
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2Nest Ballsm1 123
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1Rescue Stretchersm2 130
Volcanion-EX decks have adapted and upgraded with each new expansion in the 2017 season, and now is no time to stop. The strategy remains mostly the same: use the Steam Up Ability to create massive attacks with your Fire-type Pokémon. Now, Kiawe joins the team, giving an opportunity to attach four Fire Energy in a single turn! Since playing this card ends your turn, it’s at its best on the first turn, before all the action starts. Ho-Oh-GX could also be a game changer, providing this deck with a hard hitter that doesn’t have a Weakness to Water-type Pokémon. Don’t be surprised if Volcanion bursts into the World Championships with a full head of steam.
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Gardevoir
Gardevoir
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8Fairy Energynrg1 34
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4Double Colorless Energysm1 136
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4Professor Sycamorexy9 107
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2Nxy10 105
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1Brigettexy8 134
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1Brock's Gritxy12 74
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1Guzmasm3 115
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1Lysandrexy7 78
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1Mallowsm2 127
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4Rare Candysm1 129
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4Ultra Ballsm1 135
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3VS Seekerxy4 109
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2Choice Bandsm2 121
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2Field Blowersm2 125
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2Max Potionsm2 128
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1Float Stonexy8 137
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1Level Ballxy7 76
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1Super Rodxy8 149
One of the new cards that’s receiving a lot of attention is Gardevoir-GX, and it’s easy to see why. The Secret Spring Ability allows the player to attach an extra Fairy Energy each turn, which plays nicely into its Infinite Force attack. It also comes with the nifty Twilight-GX attack, which can shuffle a bunch of Item cards from your discard pile into your deck—particularly useful against Trashalanche. And since Kirlia can also evolve into Gallade, this deck gains access to a powerful Fighting-type attacker as well. It’s still unproven, but many players have Gardevoir-GX on their radar as a top contender heading into this event.
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Zoroark
Zoroark
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5Darkness Energynrg1 32
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4Double Colorless Energysm1 136
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1Rainbow Energysm1 137
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4Professor Sycamorexy9 107
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3Nxy10 105
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1Brigettexy8 134
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1Guzmasm3 115
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1Hex Maniacxy7 75
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1Lysandrexy7 78
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1Professor Kukuism1 128
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1Teammatesxy5 141
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1Reverse Valleyxy9 110
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4Ultra Ballsm1 135
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4VS Seekerxy4 109
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3Choice Bandsm2 121
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2Float Stonexy8 137
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1Rescue Stretchersm2 130
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1Special Chargexy11 105
Zoroark BREAK was surrounded by a lot of hype during the North American International Championships, and Andrew Mahone was able to take it to the Top 8. Like some other decks on this list, Zoroark did not gain much from the Sun & Moon—Burning Shadows expansion—but it did get a new potential enemy in Gardevoir-GX, which sports a Resistance to the Darkness-type Pokémon. But its solid matchups against the other top decks keep it as a potential top choice for the World Championships.
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Golisopod
Golisopod
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8Grass Energynrg1 26
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3Double Colorless Energysm1 136
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4Professor Sycamorexy9 107
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3Nxy10 105
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2Guzmasm3 115
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1Acerolasm3 112
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1Brigettexy8 134
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1Hex Maniacxy7 75
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2Forest of Giant Plantsxy7 74
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4Ultra Ballsm1 135
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4VS Seekerxy4 109
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3Float Stonexy8 137
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2Choice Bandsm2 121
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1Field Blowersm2 125
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1Max Potionsm2 128
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1Rescue Stretchersm2 130
Another new card that’s getting some attention is Golisopod-GX. As long as you can move it from the Bench to the Active spot every turn (such as with Guzma or Zoroark’s Stand In Ability), its First Impression attack will do 120 damage for a single Grass Energy—just enough to Knock Out Garbodor. With the help of Eevee’s Evolutions, it can gain the Fire, Water, or Lightning type as well, allowing it to hit many popular Pokémon for Weakness. When the time is right, attach a Choice Band and unleash the Crossing Cut-GX attack against an opposing Pokémon-GX or Pokémon-EX to do 180 damage, again just enough to take out Drampa-GX and other top threats. We also could see Golisopod-GX alongside Decidueye-GX to form a powerful Grass-type group.
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Darkrai
Darkrai
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13Darkness Energynrg1 32
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4Professor Sycamorexy9 107
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2Nxy10 105
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1Guzmasm3 115
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1Hex Maniacxy7 75
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1Lysandrexy7 78
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2Sky Fieldxy6 89
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4Max Elixirxy9 102
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4Ultra Ballsm1 135
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4VS Seekerxy4 109
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3Trainers' Mailxy6 92
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2Choice Bandsm2 121
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2Float Stonexy8 137
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1Escape Ropesm3 114
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1Field Blowersm2 125
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1Fighting Fury Beltxy9 99
Darkrai-EX has been a contender in the Standard format for most of the season, but it dropped off a bit with the release of Sun & Moon—Guardians Rising. Now it gains the help of Darkrai-GX, which can pump up Darkrai-EX’s Dark Pulse attack by bringing extra Darkness Energy into play with the Restoration Ability. But will this new addition be enough to return Darkrai-EX to its former prominence? The answer might rest on the popularity of Gardevoir-GX, which matches up incredibly well against the Darkness-type Pokémon. That could make Darkrai a risky pick for the World Championships, but sometimes it pays off to take a big risk at the big event.
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Greninja
Greninja
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7Water Energynrg1 28
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2Splash Energyxy9 113
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4Nxy10 105
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4Professor Sycamorexy9 107
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2Guzmasm3 115
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1Ace Trainerxy7 69
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1Fishermanxy8 136
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1Professor Kukuism1 128
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4Dive Ballxy5 125
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4VS Seekerxy4 109
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2Choice Bandsm2 121
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2Field Blowersm2 125
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2Max Potionsm2 128
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2Rare Candysm1 129
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2Ultra Ballsm1 135
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1Rescue Stretchersm2 130
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1Super Rodxy8 149
After a Top 8 finish at the North American International Championships by Alex Krekeler, it’s clear that Greninja BREAK is still a viable tournament choice. The Greninja deck is all about high risk, high reward. It’s slow to set up, it’s prone to poor starting hands with low-HP Pokémon, it has a lot of moving pieces that all need to be in place—and it has a lot of variance whether or not Talonflame is your starting Pokémon. But when everything goes well, there’s no questioning how powerful Greninja BREAK’s Giant Water Shuriken can be. All of this was on display at the 2016 Pokémon TCG World Championships, where we witnessed Cody Walinski easily dispatch legendary player Ross Cawthon in the semifinals, only to have his deck come up short against Shintaro Ito in the finals. Perhaps we’ll see more from Greninja this year.
Of course, with the Worlds field representing the best Pokémon TCG players from all corners of the globe, there could easily be a dark horse deck or two that disrupts the entire competition—after all, no one was expecting Mega Audino last year! It’ll be exciting to watch the competition unfold to see which players and decks rise to the top.
If you can’t attend in person, be sure to catch the live stream for all three days of coverage, August 18–20, at Twitch.tv/Pokemon. And as always, be sure to check back at Pokemon.co.uk/Strategy for the latest Pokémon TCG news and updates!