blog The best decks of Chilling Reign!

The best decks of Chilling Reign!

Hello everyone! This is Elena from Gaia Storm TCG and welcome to another article at CCG Castle. Chilling Reign has been out for some time now and if you are looking to participate in tournaments, this is the post for you. What are the top decks that have been shaping the metagame in these past weeks?
First of all, we need to highlight how insane Shadow Rider Calyrex is. True, we all knew that it had a lot of potential but I think actually playing the deck, seeing how consistent it draws and how much damage it is able to deal turn after turn is a completely different experience. Shadow Rider Calyrex has become the deck to beat but the reality is that not many strategies can respond well. Eternatus VMAX is the only strong Dark-type deck that can, theoretically, counter Calyrex but I say “theoretically” because the inclusion of Galarian Zapdos in the Calyrex build can swing the match up in its favor.


Apart from the ruler Calyrex, that is the most predominant strategy right now, there are other decks (both new and old) that are performing really well. Ice Rider Calyrex, its other variation, has proved to be a solid choice in combination with either Cinccino or Intelon to draw cards and use Melony every turn. Rapid Strike Urshifu has gained an amazing new partner in Inteleon and now the damage spread is deadlier than ever. And then, we have Eternatus, who has become a much solid choice thanks to the recycling power of Galarian Moltres V. Finally, we need to also mention that Arceus Palkia Dialga Tag Team (ADP) continues being a very robust choice, as always, and that so does Lucario Melmetal. These two last decks had to adapt slightly to the changes in the metagame but they are for sure part of the top deck positions.  


What it interesting, therefore, is to see how there is a clearly defined “triangle” in the game right now. Eternatus is able to counter Calyrex but loses hard against Rapid Strike Urshifu. And Urshifu happens to lose against Calyrex. When preparing for a tournament, it is important to be aware of these weakness dynamics and be prepared.  There can also be found another “smaller” triangle if you wish between Fire (Victini, Welder Box), Metal (Zacian V) and Water (Ice Rider Calyrex) but I say it is smaller because the presence of Fire-type decks has decreased considerably and it is not very common to run across then in tournaments.
It is still soon to predict how everything is going to develop in the coming weeks. I expect different counters and strategies to rise up in order to counter the metagame and I am excited to see what type of creative decks appear. We will be analyzing with more details some of the new strategies in the following articles. Until then, thanks for reading!