Hi everyone! This is Elena from Gaia Storm TCG and welcome to another article here at CCG Castle. Battle Styles has been around for a while so it is time to analyze what are the most promising decks nowadays as well as the latest strategies. I would be inclined to say that this is one of the healthiest metagames we’ve had in a long time due the all the viable decks that currently exists. Let’s check the top 5 trends that we saw in the past weeks with Battle Styles.

1. Single and Rapid Strike Urshifu are a thing but they are not BDIF:

Urshifu, both in its Rapid and Single Strike version, was the most hyped card of the set. And yes, as we had discussed previously, the two decks have potential and have been able to consistently perform in tournaments but they are still far away from dominating the metagame. On the one hand, Rapid Strike Urshifu seems to be now a very solid pick but it is clear that players are still experimenting to find the perfect build: Should I run Octillery? Should I play it with Dragapult VMAX? Is Empoleon needed at all? Single Strike Urshifu, on the other hand, is sometimes a surprise appearance in some tournament tops. Not that the deck is bad but it needs a very strong set up to properly function and is prone to very bad hands at the beginning of the game. Nevertheless, what is clear is that the impact of this Fighting Type decks has been considerable, which leads me to my second point…

2. Old favourites adapt to survive
You know what people say, adapt or die. Everyone assumed that Eternatus and Pikakrom where dead the moment the new Urshifu kids arrived to the block but both decks have proved to be more resilient than anyone expected. Eternatus is now playing several copies of Weakguard energy and Pikachu Zekrom uses Mewtwo Tag Team to hit Urshifu for weakness. Of course that doesn’t mean that they have a favorable match up against fighting but that is a way to ensure they remain viable options in the metagame.

3. ADP Remains as strong as ever:
This is going to remain a fact until the moment ADP rotates next August. The deck is as consistent as ever and it has even gained some new weapons (this was not a pun I intended) with Shining Fates’ Rusted Sword, which allows Zacian to KO popular Tag Teams in the format. ADP has a very straightforward strategy that only requires two Boss Order to win the game. In fact, according to the most recent statistics, ADP was still among the most played decks in online tournaments.

4. Inteleon enters the scene
Intelon has never been a serious pick because of its weakness to lighting. But now that Pikachu Zekrom is not as popular as it used to, the deck has suddenly become a strong option. The best way to play Intelon VMAX is precisely in combination with the other non-V Inteleon line from Sword and Shield. The level ball reprint actually allows the deck to set up very fast and have access to every item and supporter. However, if Pikachu Zekrom becomes a force again, Inteleon will probably not see as much play in the coming weeks.

5. Victini can’t fight alone:
Victini VMAX was clearly one of the most promising cards of the new set because it is an attacker that, unlike other Fire-type ones, does not rely on Welder to deal huge amounts of damage. 220 damage for just two energies is amazing but has one small drawback: it is only effective against V Pokémon. Some of the most played decks in the format still rely on GX cards so when Victini has to face, say, an ADP or a Mewtwo, its attacks are just not enough. For that reason, it has to partner up with other Fire Pokémon like Heatran GX, Reshiram or even Centiskorch VMAX. Once the rotation hits and the only Pokémon type that remains are V ones, Victini will be unstoppable.

So, as a conclusion, there are many different options to play in online tournaments so it is a matter of finding something that you feel comfortable with. And the other important thing to note is that the metagame, as always, comes in waves. So if Urshifu is very popular and everyone starts playing Dragapult to counter it, Eternatus will resurrect one more time. And so on… But that is perhaps a topic to go into more detail on another article. Thanks for reading!