Kash Top 20 List: Decks from BST to PAR and how rotation will affect them

Well it's the new year which means the new 2024 Rotation will be coming soon. Japan has their rotation set in January but the rest of us will have to wait until April when the first set of the year is released. So while we still have 3 or so months of this format, why not look towards the future to see which decks will be heavily affected by the new rotation and which decks won't be affected.

Sets that will be rotating (E sets) are: Battle Styles (BST), Chilling Reign (CRE), Evolving Skies (EVS), Celebrations (CEL) and Fusion Strike (FST).

Prices on the list are as of January 2nd 2024. Currency is USD.

There are some top decks that I won't cover for the obvious reasons:

• Both Mew VMAX variants since Mew VMAX is finally rotating
• Inteleon VMAX and Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX are both rotating
• Zoroark from Evolving Skies is sadly rotating as well, making it's Phantom Transformation deck...well...disappear for good
• The Single Strike version of Lugia VSTAR will cease to exist
• Houndoom rotating means rogue decks like Gengar VMAX are also gone
• Shadow Rider Calyrex is rotating, sorry Horse Girl Hannah!
• Arceus VSTAR decks will take a hit with Duraludon VMAX, Umbreon VMAX and Flying Pikachu VMAX all rotating
• Kyogre rotating means the Lost Box Kyogre variant is gone for good!

#20 - Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR

Juststeelix - 2nd - Redacted Paradox #2

Cards Rotating: (3)

x1 Escape Rope (BST)

x1 Justified Gloves (CRE)

x1 Cleansing Gloves (BST)

Deck Price: $24.86

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 5%

The first deck on this list somehow has the best stats of any decks of the two things I'm working on here! The deck is the cheapest deck on the list and the second least affected deck by rotation. And if we get rid of the Gloves, it really only loses Escape Rope! The deck is still not one you'd usually see people playing but could be a fun project for some to try.

#19 Garchomp ex

Benjamin Merrit - 4th - AustraliaTCG OCIS Round 12

Cards Rotating: (11)

x2 Mew (CEL)

x1 Sobble (CRE)

x1 Inteleon (CRE)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x1 Escape Rope (BST)

x2 Path to the Peak (CRE)

Deck Price: $45.58

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 18.33%

Garchomp is surely too good to stop being overlooked eventually. It's got two great attacks and one of it's recent new partners seems to be Slither Wing. It will lose some stuff to rotation, namely Path to the Peak and Battle VIP Pass (not the first time you'll hear this btw). There are a few new attackers coming in the first set of the year that uses Fighting Energy so Garchomp ex might find a new partner soon.

#18 Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Zone)

Robin Waters - 8th - Late Night 157

Cards Rotating: (8)

x1 Raihan (EVS)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x3 Escape Rope (BST)

Deck Price: $38.94

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

Hisuian Goodra can still be a threat in the meta. It was that way at the start of 2023, it was looking that way near the end of 2023 but hasn't shown up much since the release of Paradox Rift. It's one of the cheapest decks to build on the list, but the deck will have to deal with the loss of VIP Pass and Escape Rope come April and there aren't many like-for-like replacements. 

Rope can be switched for the new Primer Catcher A-Spec but there can only be 1 of it so 2 more spot for a switch/gust will be needed, be it Switch, Iron Bundle or whatever new is coming next.

#17 Tsareena ex

AbeLincoln - 7th - Cinnabar Island Tournament #15

Cards Rotating: (5)

*Rufflet can be easily swapped for a non-rotating Rufflet from SIT

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x1 Escape Rope (BST)

Deck Price: $39.23

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 8.33%

Another fun rogue deck for this list. It's cheap, it doesn't really lose much in rotation, the cards it loses are pretty much the same stuff every other deck on this are likely to lose anyway. This deck does have a lot of moving pieces so it can be quite hard to pull it's strategy off, but when you do, you can stop your opponent from ever attacking you.

#16 Gholdengo ex

Haruki Miwa - 1st - Kyoto Champions League

Cards Rotating: (10)

1-1 Milotic (EVS) + Feebas

4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

4 Cross Switcher (FST)

Deck Price: $45.31

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 16.67%

Gholdengo ex finally got it's first big result in the last major event of the year in Kyoto. Another fun budget deck that losses Battle VIP Pass and Cross Switcher. The 1-1 Milotic can easily be replaced for anything else, be it a 1-1 Scizor line or add another line of Palkias to the deck. 

I do think the deck has some potential, I have played it a lot lately and I can't wait to see if it will be able to strive in 2024. Make it Rain is too good of an attack to be ignored and if the meta does shift to more big basic decks going around, that's just more good news for our funny gold man to hit funny big numbers.

#15 Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR

Douglas Maiola - 25th - Sao Paulo Internationals

Cards Rotating: (6)

x1 Avery (CRE)

x1 Raihan (EVS)

x1 Escape Rope (BST)

x3 Path to the Peak (CRE)

Deck Price: $62.04

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%

You know how much I love this deck. But I do think it's days are numbered because of Path to the Peak being rotated soon. The Path + Judge plan will cease to exist come April. So even if the deck only loses 10% of it's current list, losing Path might be a bit too much. Sure there are stuff like Pokemon League HQ, Lost City, Gapejaw Bog or Calamitous Wasteland to go with the disruption aspect but they don't serve the same purpose as Path.

#14 Klawf/Hisuian Electrode VMAX

Jack Underwood - 17th - Brisbane Regional

Cards Rotating: (6)

x4 Spicy Seasoned Curry (ASR) - It was released as a promo card during the E block in Japan

x2 Escape Rope (BST)

Deck Price: $49.65

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%

This one will not be good news to Klawf believers but even though Curry was released in the F block everywhere else, it was released in the E block as a promo card in Japan so Curry will be rotated soon, making it having one of the shortest life span for a non-Japanese card. 

Apart from that, the deck doesn't lose much, just Escape Rope. And it does have the upcoming Walking Wake ex coming soon that goes with this deck's gimmick.

#13 Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR

Joseph Nawal - 3rd - San Antonio Regional

Cards Rotating: (19)

x2 Ice Rider Calyrex V (CRE)

x1 Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX (CRE)

x1 Suicune V (EVS)

x1 Mew (CEL)

x4 Melony (CRE)

x4 Cross Switcher (FST)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x2 Escape Rope (BST)

Deck Price: $48.90

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 31.67%

Going into 2023, Palkia was partnered with the Shady Dealing Inteleon engine and it survived that. Palkia suffers the most of any deck on this list from rotation, is it one too many rotations for it to survive? Ice Rider is gone, Mew is gone, Cross Switcher is gone, VIP is gone, Rope is gone. 

Even with all of that, I still think there is a way for Palkia to be relevant, whether on it's own or as a tech attacker in another deck. The biggest loss for this build however is Melony. It's hard enough to get two Water energies consistently on multiple Palkias, imagine not having the option to use Melony for it. The deck has survived one rotation but with Melony gone and Raihan also gone, it might be a one lost too much for Palkia to going into the next rotation.

#12 Roaring Moon ex

Luigi Vezzoni - 9th - Stuttgart Regional

Cards Rotating: (5)

x1 Galarian Moltres V (CRE)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

Deck Price: $74.92

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 8.33%

The numbers don't lie here. It's just VIP Pass and Moltres that is rotating. Every deck does lose VIP Pass so that's a problem everyone else have to deal with. 

Losing Moltres V does mean the deck lose one way to power up Roaring Moon ex and now it just has Sada and Dark Patch as it's main energy acceleration going forward, which could still be enough. Plus there will be more tools to help with the Ancient gimmick so this deck will likely get better eventually.

#11 Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur

Jared Grimes - 89th - San Antonio Regional

Cards Rotating: (4)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

Deck Price: $57.55

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 6.67%

Like Roaring Moon ex before, Chien-Pao/Bax is one of the decks that loses the least from rotation. It's just Battle VIP Pass that is gone. It has been struggling in this format so could rotation give the deck an added boost? 

My biggest worry for the deck is that losing VIP Pass means it might have a harder time to set up Frigibax and Bidoof and the deck is already struggling to do that at times right now! Imagine not having that option. That has been my biggest gripe with CP Bax and with TM Devo now a thing, that makes things even more scarier. 

#10 Entei V/Iron Valiant ex

Noah Sawyer - 2nd - Sao Paulo Internationals

Cards Rotating: (9)

x1 Medicham V (EVS)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x4 Escape Rope (BST)

Deck Price: $85.46

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 15%

One of the newer decks in the meta and because of that, it's no surprise that it's one of the most expensive decks. It would be the most expensive if not for the two Charizard ex decks on this list. But there are two big losses in rotation for the deck. Losing Escape Rope means it can't take advantage of Iron Valiant's Techyon Bits as much as it used to. 

Losing Medicham V might be the bigger loss though as it a huge part for the deck's strategy right now. You want to spread damage around with Iron Valiant to the point where Medicham can pick something off and give you an extra turn, who doesn't like that?

#9 Snorlax Control

Łukasz Mazurkiewicz - 1st - Gdańsk Regional

Cards Rotating: (6)

x1 Crabominable V (FST)

x1 Avery (CRE)

x1 Sidney (FST)

x1 Peonia (CRE)

x1 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x1 Echoing Horn (BST)

Deck Price: $34.82

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%

Yup Control will still be around for 2024 so be prepared. It will lose the ability to mill with Crabominable (that could be chaged to Che-Yu ex), and loses some key supporters but in all honesty, it won't actually lose any of it's important stuff which is a scary sign for the whole meta. 

The two main losses I suppose are Peonia and Echoing Horn. The deck suffer from bad prizing and since you don't take prizes, not having the option to take cards from prizes from a effect such as Peonia could be dangerous. Losing Echoing Horn just means the rest of us can easily discard Pokemon now without worrying about them being dragged onto the bench later on.

#8 Lugia VSTAR/Archeops

Alec Geissler - 22nd - San Antonio Regional

Cards Rotating: (2)

x1 Dunsparce (FST)

x1 Professor Burnet (Promo - Released under E block)

Deck Price: $59.57

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 3.33%

Yes, this is the deck that loses the least from rotation. Just Dunsparce and Burnet. Burnet however is a big one, it was the easiest way to discard. In all fairness, the first few Lugia lists didn't include it and still did well, so maybe it's not needed after all. 

Lugia hasn't seen much play lately with the increase in play of Miraidon. Losing Dunsparce does mean it's going to get even worse against the lighting crew. If you can avoid those and any decks featuring a Raikou V or an Iron Hands ex, the deck should still be able to thrive.

#7 Lost Zone Box (Turbo)

David Jon Del Rosario - 2nd - Philippines Regional League

Cards Rotating: (10)

x1 Dragonite V (Promo - Released under E block)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x4 Escape Rope (BST)

x1 Echoing Horn (BST)

Deck Price: $70.80

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 16.67%

I could have picked the new wave of "Turbo" Lost box that used Roaring Moon ex and Iron Hands ex but I wanted to showcase the good ol' actual Turbo Lost Box for this one. For those wondering, Tord's list that got 5th loses pretty much the same stuff, VIP & Rope along with Kyogre and Energy Recycler. 

This one however does lose one major part that helps with it's Turbo strategy, that being Dragonite V itself. Lost Box decks does have the tendency to adapt to new changes so I do expect a new version of Turbo Lost Box to show up eventually, perhaps the rest will switch to the new wave of Turbo Lost box I mentioned earlier. And in fairness, that has been the way to play the deck recently. Maybe it's not a big loss after all.

#6 Lost Zone Box (Radiant Charizard)

Christian Fontenot - 1st - Stuttgart Regional

Cards Rotating: (14)

x2 Raihan (EVS)

x2 Klara (CRE)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x4 Escape Rope (BST)

x2 Fog Crystal (CRE)

Deck Price: $36.05

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 23.33%

It's a different story for SableZard. It's cheaper yes but it loses more stuff. Raihan? Gone. Klara? Gone. Fog Crystal? Gone. For me, losing Raihan and Klara is quite a painful one for the deck to deal with, but an answer could be to use more Super Rods and Mirage Gates to solve the issue the deck loses from losing those two supporters. In fact, I can see a world where Tulip just outright replaces Klara to fix that role, but you only do get back Sableye, Comfey and Psychic Energy, which might just be what you want anyway.

The deck should still be fine to be fair, you have answers for evolving decks with the likes of Cramorant and Sableye picking stuff off and they can help set up numbers for Radiant Charizard to take down the bigger ex-s or Vs. Sure it doesn't look good with many important stuff rotating but I think the deck will still be alright. Lost Box decks can easily adapt so I expect it to do so.

#5 Miraidon ex

Juho Kallama - 1st - Sao Paulo Internationals

Cards Rotating: (8)

x2 Mareep (EVS)

x2 Flaaffy (EVS)

x2 Escape Rope (BST)

x2 Path to the Peak (CRE)

Deck Price: $75.14

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

Miraidon seems to be the preferred engine for people wanting to make full use of Iron Hands ex which means it's one of the more expensive decks on this list. The deck will have to deal with the loss of Flaaffy to rotation. 

While it still does have Electric Generator, Flaaffy has always been the consistent energy accelerator for the likes of Iron Hands ex, Miraidon ex, Raikou V, Raichu V and Mew ex. The version with Path will cease to exist so the deck will likely go back to using Beach Court. 

#4 Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)

Alberto Conti - 3rd - Stuttgart Regional

Cards Rotating: (8)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x4 Path to the Peak (CRE)

Deck Price: $70.78

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

And one of the more costlier deck on this list and the deck only loses two cards two rotation. Battle VIP Pass and Path. Path is the bigger hit as it's the main part of it's strategy. You want to put your opponent down to as little cards as possible with either Roxanne or Iono and then hit Path to make it difficult for them to get out of it. 

And as of right now, there is no clear replacement for Path. Is this deck still good without Path? Time will tell. There are other Stadiums that can play a disruption role, be it League HQ or Temple of Sinnoh or Calamitous Wasteland but they don't quite off the same thing as Path as I mentioned for the other Giratina deck on this list.

#3 Gardevoir ex

Bryan de Vries - 15th - Stuttgart Regional

Cards Rotating: (15)

x1 Kirlia (CRE)

x2 Gardevoir (CRE)

x1 Mew (CEL)

x2 Avery (CRE)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x3 Level Ball (BST)

x2 Fog Crystal (CRE)

Deck Price: $42.36

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 25%

One of the more cheaper options for decks that is considered a top tier deck. There is one huge problem for Gardevoir ex if you saw the number before this paragraph and it's that this deck loses A LOT from rotation, the 2nd most affected on this list after Palkia. The biggest loss is Shining Arcana Gardevoir, the deck's main attacker and part of the draw engine too. Sure there are other Gardevoirs or even Buddy Catch Gallade but they can't hit for big numbers like Arcana Gardevoir does.

If that wasn't enough, Mirage Step Kirlia being rotated means the deck will have to go back to the old strategy of getting out as many Ralts in Turn 1 as possible and evolve all of them into Kirlias Turn 2. Losing Level Ball AND Fog Crystal mean the deck loses a lot of its search options as well, and all that without mentioning VIP Pass. Mew rotating is also another issue but with VIP gone, perhaps it's not that big and the deck could instead choose to have a disruptor in the active now. Perhaps Klefki or even the upcoming Flutter Mane?

#2 Charizard ex/Bibarel

Thomas Jones - 6th - Gdańsk Regional

Cards Rotating: (5)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x1 Escape Rope (BST)

Deck Price: $86.99

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 8.33%

Charizard ex decks are the most expensive decks in this list. It's the Charizard effect I suppose. The Bibarel version does lose lesser card to rotation than it's Pidgeot counterpart. It's loses just VIP Pass and Rope, and pretty much every deck on this list but a handful lose will lose either VIP Pass or Rope. 

I'd like to think the deck could be a viable choice going into the new rotation with how little it loses and Charizard ex is still one of the best attacker in the game and if more decks are playing TM Devolution, why not this version? The main selling point for this deck was that deals with Path deck better than Pidgeot but with that gone, what does it have over Pidgeot other than having a better time dealing with TM Devo?

#1 Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex

Azul Garcia Griego - 1st - San Antonio Regional

Cards Rotating: (8)

x1 Mew (CEL)

x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)

x2 Level Ball (BST)

x1 Justified Gloves (CRE)

Deck Price: $93.89

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

The deck that won the last major TPCi event, some say the best deck in the game going into 2024. And it is the most expensive deck on this list, does back up it's claim as the best I suppose. The deck actually doesn't lose much from rotation either. Justified Gloves can be swapped for another tool, likely to be Defiance Band, Level Ball will likely be switched to Nest Ball which leaves us with Battle VIP Pass and Mew. 

There are still some search option cards to soften the blow of losing VIP Pass. Mew however, there is nothing that can be an exact replacement for it. Still, I expect Zard/Pidgeot to be one of the best deck, pre-rotation and post-rotation. It has to surely, for the sake of Charmander please!

Now for a re-cap of the decks that cost the least to most and the decks that are the least affected by rotation:

Least expensive decks

1. Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR - $24.86
2. Snorlax Control - $34.82
3. Lost Zone Box (Radiant Charizard) - $36.05
4. Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Zone) - $38.94
5. Tsareena ex - $39.23
6. Gardevoir ex - $42.36
7. Gholdengo ex - $45.31
8. Garchomp ex - $45.58
9. Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR - $48.90
10. Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V - $49.65
11. Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur - $57.55
12. Lugia VSTAR/Archeops - $59.57
13. Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR - $62.04
14. Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone) - $70.78
15. Turbo Lost Zone Box - $70.80
16. Roaring Moon ex - $74.92
17. Miraidon ex - $75.14
18. Entei V/Iron Valiant ex - $85.46
19. Charizard ex/Bibarel - $86.99
20. Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex - $93.89

Yup Charizard ex decks being the most expensive doesn't surprise me, neither do decks that have attackers from Paradox Rift, aka the three decks after Charizard ex. A good cheap alternate for anyone wanting to pick up a deck right now would probably be Gardevoir, Sable Zard or Gholdengo ex. 

The first two are something I'd recommend just for the time being as you will see later. If you have the money, Charizard ex has to be the best choice. Want a deck very safe from rotation, Lugia isn't the most expensive deck around, which is not the same story last year.

Decks least affected by rotation

1. Lugia VSTAR/Archeops - 3.33%
2. Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR - 5%
3. Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur - 6.67%
4. Charizard ex/Bibarel - 8.33%
5. Roaring Moon ex - 8.33%
6. Tsareena ex - 8.33%
7. Snorlax Control - 10%
8. Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V - 10%
9. Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR - 10%
10. Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex - 13.33%
11. Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone) - 13.33%
12. Miraidon ex - 13.33%
13. Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Zone) - 13.33%
14. Entei V/Iron Valiant ex - 15%
15. Turbo Lost Zone Box - 16.67%
16. Gholdengo ex - 16.67%
17. Garchomp ex - 18.33%
18. Lost Zone Box (Radiant Charizard) - 23.33%
19. Gardevoir ex - 25%
20. Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR - 31.67%

Well I did say almost every deck will have to deal with losing Battle VIP Pass but the first two decks don't, that being Lugia and Zoroark. Of the top decks, Charizard ex, Roaring Moon ex and Control decks seem to fair better than most for the upcoming rotation. You could even include Klawf but the one loss of Curry might be a bit too big. Same for ArcTina losing Path.

On the flip side, Palkia, Gardevoir and SableZard will lose out more in the upcoming rotation. Of the 3, I think SableZard has plenty of alternatives to fix the missing pieces. The other two on the other hand, don't have that luxury. Palkia loses Ice Rider, it's main answer for Miraidon, a deck it has weakness to. Gardevoir loses it's main attacker, one of it's best ways to setup the perfect board state, and two of it's search optios. They won't dissaper once rotation hits, Gardevoir ex and Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR are two of the best cards in the format right now, they will find a way to survive. They just need to have a new look for the new year.

Thanks for reading!

2023: A year of many firsts!

 The year 2023 was a very cool one with many firsts so here's my re-cap of the year:

JANUARY

Japan Trip #1

So I started the year 2023 in Japan, and I thought it was my one and only trip to Japan for the year. How wrong was I. The main reason for this trip was to support my brother's company (DDT Pro Wrestling) as they had a big show in Tokyo on the 29th of December. 

33rd Birthday

As per tradition, I visited the Pokemon Center. I had to drop by the Mega Tokyo Pokemon Center at Ikebukuro. Didn't really buy much. I also visited Kabukicho for the first time ever. I didn't know much about the place but I knew it was the setting in the game Judgement so it was cool to see places I had seen in the game in real life! 

I did get some packs, pulled some cool stuff that I can't play so it's all good. Ones for the collection. I suppose.

As for my number post that I like to do for every birthday, 33 was an easy one. Had to be Max Verstappen's Red Bull car right? What I didn't know was what he had in store for us in F1 this year. 

He destroyed the competition. The man won his 3rd world championship and broke all sorts of records: 

• Most wins in a season (19)
• Most podiums in a season (21)
• Most wins starting from pole position in a season (12)
• Most points scored in a season (575)
• Most hat-tricks in a season, Pole + Win + Fastest Lap (6)
• Biggest championship winning margin (290 points ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez)
• Most laps led in a season (1,003)
• Highest % of Laps Led (75.7%)

Wrestle Kingdom 17 - Not my first time, but my first time watching Tokyo Joshi (Japan's female wrestlers)

The other main reason I was in Japan was to watch Japan's biggest wrestling show, the annual Janaury 4 show at the Tokyo Dome known as Wrestle Kingdom! But before that, I got to see another DDT show at the Korakuen Hall on the 3rd and in the morning of the 4th, saw my first Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling show, also at Korakuen. Those ladies are tough! 

FEBURARY 

Other than serving my 9th Army reservist, nothing happened here. 

MARCH

First Trip to America in 9 Years

Land of the free, home of the brave! It felt nice to be back in the good ol' US of A! My last visit was in 2014 and well so many things have changed. One of the biggest firsts for me personally was finally getting to see my nephew and nieces from my dad's side of the family. The new generation of Manns are here! I tried to be the cool uncle to them.

First American Wrestling Pay-Per-View show!

I finally got to watch a American PPV show live!!! As a life-long wrestling fan, I've always wanted to watch one of the big shows live in person and when I heard AEW was hosting their annual Revolution show in San Francisco, I was in! 

And I must have struck gold. It turned out to be one of the best wrestling shows of the year! The 60-minute Ironman match between AEW Champion MJF and Bryan Danielson was really something else, had you at the edge of your seats for more than 60 minutes! I got to see two of my all time favourite wrestlers in action too, Chris Jericho and Christian Cage. Ok they lost but whatever. We got very close to the action when the women's 3 way match went to the outside and they started brawling right in front of us!

First time watching a televised wrestling show live!

Once again, thanks to AEW for letting me cross out something on my to-do list. AEW held their weekly taping of AEW Dynamite in Sacramento so I had to go catch it. It was interesting to see how they did a live TV episodic wrestling show in the crowd. 

They actually taped 3 shows in one. They did their Youtube show first (Dark Elevation), then the live show Dynamite that was airing live on TNT, and then their taped show that usually goes on air on Friday, so I could have easily spoiled that week's Rampage for anyone but I'm not that guy. The commercial breaks were a pain, I'll be honest. The matches were great, the promo segments were fun. We got to hear Bullet Club for the first time on AEW so that was nice. The main event had a title change so that was cool, even though I saw that title changing hands in San Francisco as well so, in the space of 4 days I've seen 3 different wrestlers as the TNT Champion.

First time watching an NBA game live

This was a cool first. I'm not much of a basketball fan because it's hard to watch their games when firstly the timing is off and we don't have it on TV here. But I've always known about the NBA, especially during my first visit to USA back in 1997. I knew all about Michael Jordan to the point that apparently, we saw Shaq O'Neal in a hotel in Los Angeles but I apparently didn't want a photo because it wasn't Michael Jordan. If that's true, big whoops on my part!

During my stay in Sacramento, my cousin did get me watching Kings games on TV whenever they were on and it was fun to watch! So it was really cool to watch one of their games live in person when they hosted the Phoenix Suns. Things were looking bad for them, they were losing after the first half but the Sacramento Kings made the comeback! They won the match and they did the thing! They lit the beam! I saw it, it was freaking cool! 

Go-Karting

I can now add a fourth country I've got to race a go-kart in. Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and now USA.

First time going to a concert with more than 1 guest

Not my first gig, the first one was for Johnny Marr but this was my second one. This was different though because I wasn't watching one group, I got to see three! The first was Saint Asonia, their lead man Adam Gontier, you may have heard him formerly from Three Days Grace. Next up was Skillet, and it's a group I'm familiar with. They've had their songs played on WWE shows and games. The headliners were Theory of a Deadman, and I've heard of them as well and they killed it. All 3 made a fan out of me that night.

APRIL

I was still in the good ol' US of A for April but not in San Francisco. Now I was in Los Angeles, and it was my first time there since 2012 but my first time in LAX since 1997!

First Wrestling Convention

I will say this, being at a Wrestling Convention event was something else. Every where I looked, I saw a wrestler I recognised, whether it was from my chilhood days or the ones I'm watching on TV now. It was a list of whos who honestly! Hell I could probably write a list of wrestlers I saw there:

• Mark Henry
• Matt Hardy
• Wardlow
• Chavo Guerrero (He said hi to me, that was cool!)
• Brian Cage
• Ron Simmons
• Aja Kong
• Julia Hart
• Anna Jay
• Billy Gunn
• Adam Cole (Got a picture with him)
• Dr Britt Baker DMD
• Samurai del Sol (He's friends with my brother so I got to say hi to him)
• Allie Katch
• Effy
• Maki Ito
• Mizuki
• Hikari Noa
• Matt Cardona
• Sean Waltman (I so badly wanted to take a picture with him, I was a big 1-2-3 Kid and X-Pac fan)
• Bret Hart (I mean, he was my favourite growing up, I had to see him)
• Scott Steiner (I did the Steiner Maths promo in my head as he walked past me)
• Rob Van Dam
• Matt Sydal
• Orange Cassidy

Not just conventions, they also had shows going on, and I saw the DDT Goes Hollywood show on the 31st of March

First Ring of Honour Show

I'll be the first to admit, I never watched ROH that much. But since they're now owned by Tony Khan (AEW owner), most of their wrestlers are contracted to AEW so you could say it was a mini-AEW show as well as evident by the show's card. Was a pretty good show to be fair and they did have some special guests, including Hiroshi Tanahashi from New Japan! 

First NXT Show but also my first live WWE Special show

I mean we were in the same city as where WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling show in the world, was being held so of course I was bound to watch something WWE related and the first one was their junior series called NXT. They had their Stand & Deliver show at the famous crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center). Not a bad show to be fair, the ladder match a the main event were highlights. 

First live WWE Monday Night RAW show!

I finally got to do it! I’ve been watching Monday Night RAW since I was a little kid so finally getting to watch a show I’ve been watching every other week for the last 20+ years is a cool experience. 

Plus it’s the Monday Night RAW after WrestleMania in Los Angeles. It should be good right? Nope, sadly we caught one of the worst RAW ever. I blame Vince McMahon for that. I still had fun though!

MAY

First Regional win! My biggest result yet in Pokemon!

I’ve made a post all about it but yeah, this was super cool. Before this, my only real big result in Pokémon was my top 8 finish at the 2019 Singapore SPE so to win a regional league was an awesome feeling. I had been working my hardest to achieve a result like this and for an event to finally go my way, the pain from many failed attempts was worth the wait for this win!

JUNE

First Top Cut Finish at a Nationals + First Worlds Invite!

Again, I’ve made a post for this but long story short. I knew I had a real chance to make it to Worlds if I made top cut of this event. And I actually did just that and with a deck that I didn’t play a lot with as well. Scoring back to back top cut finishes at major events was very unexpected but maybe somehow somewhere I’d like to think I’ve earned it. 

It also meant I finally got my first World Championship invite after years of trying. Of course I waited for the invite structure to get a lot more harder for us Singaporeans to actually get that first invite! I finally made it to the promise land, no more what ifs! This also means now I have to get ready for Japan Trip #2 for the year…while a 3rd trip was also being talked about because of something I heard.

JULY

First overseas TPC Japan event

Because of our new system, we don’t have any chance to actually go overseas to play the game unless we decide to play in TPCi events (we can only earn money from their events, no points or invite). So when the Asia Open was announced for Kuala Lumpur, I had to go!

It was nice meeting all my Malaysian friends and was super cool to see a lot of us making the trip over ad well. I had fun in the event, got a 5-3 score. Bo1 stuff happened so I had to accept it.

AUGUST

First Pokemon World Championships event + Japan Trip #2

I’ve also done a post for this. I’ve travelled to Japan 7 times now before this but the 8th one was not just to travel around like usual but mainly to compete in Yokohama. 

Worlds 2023 was an experience I will never forget. I got to play in a bo3 event again! I was proud of my effort, I was one win short of making Day 2. And all I wanted was to get at least 3 wins! I couldn't have done it without every helping me and cheering me on this whole time.

Probably my biggest hightlight was getting to meet all my overseas friends for the first time and also the players who I looked up to and I just had to say hello to them, and it was a nice feeling that most of them knew who I was, I was not expecting that! It felt really good to hang out with a lot of you, some for the first time and just talk like we've known each other for years...because we have! I've known most of my friends for years but this was my first chance to meet most of them. I hope there will be another chance to meet most of you soon, because there are still a lot of you I still have not had the chance to meet yet!

First time in Yokohama

Oh year, Worlds was in Yokohama and the funny thing is, for all the times I've been to Japan, I've never actually step foot in Yokohama before. It was a cool place and I wished I had more time to check it out. I was still staying in Korakuen so I had to make an hour trip just to get to Yokohama for Worlds for all 3 days! Hoping to visit Yokohama again sometime soon. They have a big ferris wheel to and you know me, I must go on it!

SEPTEMBER

Finally completed Pokemon Scarlet

So yeah, I didn't actually finish the game for the longest time haha! I was too consumed by everything that I simply forgot to finish the game. I finally did in the early days of September...that's 9 months longer than probably everyone else haha! But the ending was really cool. I didn't expect the professor to end up being an AI because the real one died. And then that battle. And that music.

And seeing Larry again. Freaking Larry. He's a gym leader and an Elite 4 member??? He gave me my hardest gym battle, imagine my horror seeing this bugger again haha!

Singapore Grand Prix - First F1 race of the year not to be won by Red Bull (and the only one)

Went back to my usual seats at Stamford Grandstand but went for the Combo deal, which meant I had 3 different seats for all 3 days. And well you all know the story. This was the best race of the year, maybe because it's the only one Red Bull didn't win this year but the 4-way battle for the win with no Red Bulls invovled was a fight for the century, won by Carlos Sainz. But man, I was hoping to see Lando Norris get his first win here. McLaren winning in Singapore, that's the dream for me.

OCTOBER

Oh you can skip, I did fuck all here. Nothing important happened. Went to a nice American-style diner for my brother's birthday but that was about it.

NOVEMBER

Japan Trip #3 - Including visits to 3 places for the first time

3rd visit to Japan. The first reason for me was to watch my favourite wrestler Chris Jericho make his debut for my brother's company, DDT Pro Wrestling. I had known about this for months now but I had to keep quiet about it. Keep it kayfabe people! I got to meet most of the DDT roster during this time too which was nice, including Konsuke Takeshita who now wrestles for AEW. We also had dinner with the new DDT Universal Champion MAO, he's a funny guy. 

First visit to Toyama

Spent two days there, nice quiet place! Kenchomae Park is a must visit. I saw the best looking Starbucks near the Fuganungakansui Park, that place was a nice area to just stroll around. Kurobe Gorge was something else, we had a 1-hour ride on these mini trains that you to Unazuki-Onsen. I didn't go for the onsen, I wasn't ready for the cold. 

First visit to Kanazawa

Spent a few days here as well. Kanazawa Castle by day was a cool place to check out. By night, it becomes a TeamLab exhibit, I highly recommend it if any of you are in Kanazawa. Tried Turban Curry as well, apparently a local special there, and yes it is yummy! They have a Pokemon Center near the central area too so that's another new Pokemon Center I have visited.

First time staying in Osaka

Not my first time in Osaka but the first time I was there, it was only for about 3 hours. I loved that place, it was freaking cool. It can get a little crowded near the popular spots which is something I'm not a fan of, I don't like going to crowded places, I can get a bit claustrophobic. I got to visit the famous Bar Unknown in Namba, it's a store that has sponsored some of the best players in Japan. 

Osaka Castle is amazing, it's a must visit. Sure, you do have to walk up 8 floors inside the castle and getting to the place itself can be quite the walk but trust me it's all worth it once you reach the top. There's a small DDT show in Osaka that day too, so of course we had to go check it out.   

DECEMBER

Hmm yeah same story in November, did nothing much here.. Ok, well not nothing, I did get my seconds points finish with my new favourite deck, Charizard ex. If you give me a reason to play Charmander in a deck, I'm all in on it! On to the next year, which is probably right now when you're reading it. So thank you for reading and I hope you have a great 2024!

Kash Top 23 List: Best Decks of 2023

 Ok so this was a late minute idea I had so why not roll with it. I was going to include a small bit for the best decks of 2023 as a side part for my best cards list I did earlier but the idea became a bit bigger than I expected so why not do I separate post for it?

Every event included here is either a major event or an online event that had more than 128 players with a top 8 cut at least. The points I used are as follows, (5 points - 1st, 3 points - 2nd, 2 points - Top 4, 1 point - Top 8).

#23 Gardevoir ex/Mewtwo V-Union

1st Place Santiago Regional - Pedro Pertusi

Points (IRL): 5 (27th)

Points (Online): 24 (19th)

Wins: 2 (1 IRL + 1 Online)

Top 4: 6 (0 IRL + 6 Online)

Top 8: 5 (0 IRL + 5 Online)

We start our list with a deck that didn't see much play after the first quarter of the year. Mewtwo V-Union was one of the new partners for Gardevoir ex initially, be it in this build or the Reversal build. This list technically did get Gardevoir ex it's first major event win.

#22 Vikavolt V

1st Place San Diego Regional - Gibson Archer-Tang

Points (IRL): 11 (20th)

Points (Online): 13 (24th)

Wins: 1 (1 IRL + 0 Online)

Top 4: 5 (1 IRL + 4 Online)

Top 8: 8 (4 IRL + 4 Online)

Vikavolt V was only present in 2023 for the first quarter of the year as it was part of the 2023 rotation with all cards under the D regulation rotating with the release of Scarlet & Violet set. It did win the first major event of the year and was still giving people headaches with it's item lock shenanigans. 

#21 Lost Zone Box (Amazing Rare Rayquaza)

1st Place Sydney Regional - Brent Tonisson

Points (IRL): 16 (18th)

Points (Online): 12 (26th)

Wins: 2 (1 IRL + 1 Online)

Top 4: 6 (4 IRL + 2 Online)

Top 8: 5 (3 IRL + 2 Online)

Another deck affected by rotation was the build of Lost Box that focused on not one but two Amazing Rare cards, Raikou who could hit 120 to the active and the bench and Rayquaza who could easily hit 320 damage if it had 4 different basic energies on it. Mirage Gate was a god sent for the AR cards but such a shame that they never got much time together.

#20 Regigigas

4th Place 2023 Oceana Internationals - Rahul Reddy

Points (IRL): 10 (21st)

Points (Online): 20 (22nd)

Wins: 1 (0 IRL + 1 Online)

Top 4: 7 (3 IRL + 4 Online)

Top 8: 9 (3 IRL + 6 Online)

Regigigas is technically still around but it was hit by rotation. Before, the deck solely relied on Aurora Energy to get any attacker it wanted. Rotation hit the deck hard with Aurora Energy leaving the format. The deck did make a small comeback by playing all basic energies alongside Luminious energy but it was not truly the same as before.

#19 Roaring Moon ex

1st Place - Brandon Baughn - TOURNAMENT OF DOOM! PORTLAND BOUND!

Points (IRL): 0

Points (Online): 21 (20th)

Wins: 1 (0 IRL + 1 Online)

Top 4: 4 (0 IRL + 4 Online)

Top 8: 8 (0 IRL + 8 Online)

One of the new decks to hit the scene with the release of the last set of the year, Paradox Rift. It hasn't had a top 8 finish in an IRL major event yet but has had many big online results, the biggest being the win at the Tournament of Doom just last week. The deck doesn't lose much in the upcoming 2024 rotation so it could still be a threat for the next year.

#18 Snorlax Control

1st Place Gdańsk Regional - Łukasz Mazurkiewicz

Points (IRL): 10 (21st)

Points (Online): 25 (18th)

Wins: 2 (1 IRL + 1 Online)

Top 4: 3 (0 IRL + 3 Online)

Top 8: 19 (5 IRL + 14 Online)

Welp control decks are back, it was bound to happen. The one that has made the biggest impact is the Snorlax build. The introduction of cards like Erika, Counter Catcher and Lux Cape have only helped to make the deck not just a pain to deal with in regards to KOing a Snorlax but also in it's ability to continuously trapping a Pokémon you don't want in the active spot. 

#17 Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur

1st Place - Singapore Regional League Vol 1 - Joey Ho

Points (IRL): 12 (19th)

Points (Online): 39 (15th)

Wins: 2 (1 IRL + 1 Online)

Top 4: 10 (1 IRL + 9 Online)

Top 8: 20 (5 IRL + 15 Online)

Chien Pao showed up on the scene mid-way through the year and is still trying to reach the higher tier of the game. It has had some good results but hasn't been consistent enough compared to the other top decks. Many expected CP to do even better with the release of Paraodox Rift, giving it a new partner in Iron Hands ex. So far, it has done the opposite. 

#16 Lost Zone Box (Radiant Charizard)

1st Place Stuttgart Regional - Christian Fontenot

Points (IRL): 19 (17th)

Points (Online): 34 (16th)

Wins: 2 (1 IRL + 1 Online)

Top 4: 10 (3 IRL + 7 Online)

Top 8: 18 (7 IRL + 11 Online)

SableZard has been present throughout the entire year and the lists you will see from the start of the year, to the start of the 2023 rotation and to the recent Stuttgart Regional, the deck has continued to evolve to keep up with the meta. It has gained a lot of new cards from this year that keeps giving the deck more ammunition going against the meta. 

#15 Lugia VSTAR/Archeops (Snorlax)

1st Place Sacramento Regional - Alexander Flatos

Points (IRL): 20 (16th)

Points (Online): 46 (12th)

Wins: 3 (1 IRL + 2 Online)

Top 4: 15 (4 IRL + 11 Online)

Top 8: 14 (6 IRL + 8 Online)

This is the first of three Lugia lists you'll see and it was the third variant to show up, which proves how powerful the combination of Lugia VSTAR and Archeops is when it can spawn 3 very different yet very succesful versions of the deck. The Snorlax built had the least results of the 3 but still won a regional! The original Amazing Rare Yeltal variant lost a lot of special energies to rotation but as the year went on, more new special energies emerged which has now allowed Snorlax and this variant to join in on the fun.

#14 Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Zone)

1st Place Fort Wayne Regional - Maxwell Johnson

Points (IRL): 33 (12th)

Points (Online): 44 (13th)

Wins: 3 (1 IRL + 2 Online)

Top 4: 14 (7 IRL + 7 Online)

Top 8: 26 (10 IRL + 16 Online)

Hisuian Goodra was a top deck going into the year and even after rotation, it still has scored big results in IRL and also on the online scene. It's best result came before rotation when it had Scoop Up Net, Air Ballon and Big Parasol around but the deck clearly has been able to adapt ever since. 

#13 Miraidon ex

1st Place 2023-24 Latin America Internationals - Juho Kallama

Points (IRL): 38 (10th)

Points (Online): 43 (14th)

Wins: 4 (4 IRL + 00 Online)

Top 4: 14 (4 IRL + 10 Online)

Top 8: 28 (8 IRL + 20 Online)

Miraidon is a deck that since the release of Scarlet and Violet, has only continued to gain more ground as the year went on. It saw little success initially before Worlds 2023 when the Path variant first showed up. And with the release of Paradox Rift, it has now gained Iron Hands ex to make the deck quite possibly one of the best decks in the game right now due to it ability to put pressure on many opponents as early at Turn 1!

#12 Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex

1st Place San Antonio Regional - Azul Garcia Griego

Points (IRL): 32 (13th)

Points (Online): 57 (11th)

Wins: 6 (3 IRL + 3 Online)

Top 4: 19 (6 IRL + 13 Online)

Top 8: 14 (3 IRL + 11 Online)

Hey it's one of my two favourite decks from this year. It has a Charmander in it, this deck is already awesome. Apart from my biasness, this has been the go-to way to play Charizard ex ever since it won the Curitiba Regional in Brazil. The deck has only continued to get better and better as the year went on and it won the last TPCi major event of the year in San Antonio. The deck also doesn't lose much to the upcoming rotation so we can expect to see Charizard ex being a big presence in the meta throughout the next year.

#11 Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX

1st Place 2023 European Internationals - Alex Schemanske

Points (IRL): 43 (9th)

Points (Online): 53 (12th)

Wins: 7 (3 IRL + 4 Online)

Top 4: 17 (8 IRL + 9 Online)

Top 8: 22 (11 IRL + 11 Online)

One of Arceus VSTAR's main partners last year was Durlaudon VMAX and the pair did help Alex Schemanske break his winless-streak at EUIC this year. The deck kept Lugia on it's toes and well neither are a big presence in the meta right now, it has done enough to get as many results as it did in the year 2023.

#10 Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR

1st Place Portland Regional - Landen Kaetler

Points (IRL): 37 (11th)

Points (Online): 72 (10th)

Wins: 5 (2 IRL + 3 Online)

Top 4: 22 (7 IRL + 15 Online)

Top 8: 32 (10 IRL + 22 Online)

Hey it's my other favourite deck from this year! I got my first regional win with it and also went 5-3 at Worlds Day 1 with it. The deck has stayed relatively the same throughout the year, with Iono being the biggest addition. The gameplan was always simple. EA Sports (Energy + Arceus Turn 1), Starbirth into what you need and then go Path + Judge and you ask your opponent the big question "can you get out of this".

#9 Inteleon VMAX/Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX

1st Place NAIC 2023, Columbus - Cyrus Davis

Points (IRL): 23 (15th)

Points (Online): 101 (6th)

Wins: 10 (3 IRL + 7 Online)

Top 4: 20 (1 IRL + 19 Online)

Top 8: 24 (6 IRL + 18 Online)

Rapid Box did have a slow start to the year with little to no results but that soon changed as the year went on. And with Lugia's disappearance from the meta, it has now helped Rapid Box to be one of the best counter decks to the current meta, having answers to pretty much every deck. The recent addition of TM Devolution makes the deck and even scarier threat for set-up decks going against it.

#8 Lost Zone Box (Kyogre)

1st Place Pittsburgh Regional - Andrew Estrada

Points (IRL): 48 (7th)

Points (Online): 76 (9th)

Wins: 9 (2 IRL + 7 Online)

Top 4: 24 (11 IRL + 13 Online)

Top 8: 25 (12 IRL + 13 Online)

It's the typical lost zone deck but with Kyogre as the end-game winner. Your whole plan was to run through the deck as quickly as possible, take the first few prizes and set the board up to the point Kyogre would take the last 2, 3 or 4 prizes. It worked at the start of the year, and it's still working at the end of the year, with it's recent win at the Kyoto Champions League.

#7 Mew VMAX (Fusion)

1st Place 2023 World Championships - Vance Kelley

Points (IRL): 67 (6th)

Points (Online): 89 (8th)

Wins: 13 (8 IRL + 5 Online)

Top 4: 28 (11 IRL + 17 Online)

Top 8: 29 (4 IRL + 25 Online)

This is the deck that won the 2023 World Championship yet it's only 7th on this list which goes to show you don't need the best deck to achieve the biggest results. Sure, Mew Fusion was the right play for the meta during Worlds but it has gotten 8 major wins this year, which proves that no matter the format, no matter the counters, the deck always finds a way to win! Quite straight forward, you set Genesect up to help you draw your deck as quickly as possible and with Meloetta, you are able to put pressure very early on.

#6 Lugia VSTAR/Archeops (Single Strike)

1st Place Fresno Regional - Regan Retzloff

Points (IRL): 81 (4th)

Points (Online): 91 (7th)

Wins: 10 (4 IRL + 6 Online)

Top 4: 36 (18 IRL + 18 Online)

Top 8: 38 (17 IRL + 21 Online)

The second Lugia variant on this list and the one players turned to when rotation hit. Sure it's not the same as the first variant but with the likes of Tyranitar V, Single Strike Urshifu V, Yveltal and Stonjourner, there was enough attackers for Lugia to support the Single Strike crew. The numbers don't lie, it got the 4th most points IRL. 

#5 Mew VMAX (DTE)

1st Place 2023 Philippines Championships - Joshua Doctolero

Points (IRL): 76 (5th)

Points (Online): 110 (5th)

Wins: 9 (5 IRL + 4 Online)

Top 4: 38 (13 IRL + 25 Online)

Top 8: 54 (25 IRL + 29 Online)

The second Path + Judge deck on this list and the preferred option for that strategy, it is 5th on all 3 of my lists after all. Quite straight forward, you set your Genesects up to help with your draw power, lock your opponents with Path and you can choose when to get out of it with your 4 Lost Vaacuums. Funny how Path went from being a Mew killer to being part of the reason why the deck has been so succesful this year.

#4 Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)

3rd Place 2023 World Championships - Michael Pramawat

Points (IRL): 48 (7th)

Points (Online): 233 (1st)

Wins: 20 (1 IRL + 19 Online)

Top 4: 53 (13 IRL + 40 Online)

Top 8: 55 (12 IRL + 43 Online)

Giratina Lost Zone is one of those decks that will always divide opinions. The best deck or just a pile? Consistent or just not enough? And here's the funny part, even my lists has divided opinions on it. It was only the 7th best deck IRL but had the highest score for any deck Online! The deck did gain a lot of new cards that made it a deck no one wanted to touch into one of the most popular decks. Four of them were the top four cards on my 2023 Best Cards list!

#3 Lugia VSTAR/Archeops (Amazing Rare Yveltal)

2nd Place 2023 Oceania Internationals - Regan Retzloff

Points (IRL): 87 (2nd)

Points (Online): 111 (4th)

Wins: 14 (5 IRL + 9 Online)

Top 4: 38 (17 IRL + 21 Online)

Top 8: 42 (23 IRL + 19 Online)

The final Lugia on the list and the one that cause mayhem last year and it dominated the start of the year. I mean it scored the 2nd most points of any decks IRL and it was only played for 3 months, need I say how dominant this deck was during that period? Lugia and Archeops showed up in the last set of 2022 and this was the preferred variant. Many of it's main attackers lost the energies they needed to make them work. Aurora Energy for Yveltal (also rotated), Powerful Energy for Stoutland and Speed for Raikou (also rotated).

#2 Turbo Lost Zone Box

1st Place São Paulo Regional - Felipe Solís

Points (IRL): 84 (3rd)

Points (Online): 139 (3rd)

Wins: 17 (5 IRL + 12 Online)

Top 4: 39 (17 IRL + 22 Online)

Top 8: 49 (20 IRL + 29 Online)

The main way to play Lost Box this year has been the Turbo build. You want to get to 7 into the lost zone as quickly as possible and it's been done many times over with the likes of Comfey, Colress, and Lost Vacuum accelerating those numbers. The deck has changed a number of times throughout the year, included all sorts of tech cards but it still one of the best decks in the game, especially in the year 2023.

#1 Gardevoir ex

2nd 2023 Place World Championships - Tord Reklev

Points (IRL): 100 (1st)

Points (Online): 184 (2nd)

Wins: 19 (3 IRL + 16 Online)

Top 4: 51 (22 IRL + 29 Online)

Top 8: 71 (31 IRL + 40 Online)

The best deck of 2023? Well it had to be Gardevoir ex didn't it? Even thought it only had 3 major wins IRL, the 22 Top 4s and 31 Top 8 finishes are quite telling. 16 online wins with 128+ people also helps to show that the deck works in both a bo3 format and a bo1 format. The combination of Gardevoir Arcana, Zacian V, Cresselia, Scream Tail and even Gardevoir ex itself has caused all sorts of decks problems and some say it's one of the hardest decks to pilot correctly so when it does well, you know that player has earnt it. 

I wanted to do a few more lists, one to show how the decks fared up in IRL and Online and also a fun little list for the Singapore side of things, not just decks but players too because I had the info and well, why not?

Top 10 Decks IRL 

1. Gardevoir ex - 100
2. Lugia VSTAR/Archeops (AR Yveltal) - 87
3. Turbo Lost Zone Box - 84
4. Lugia VSTAR/Archeops (Single Strike) - 81
5. Mew VMAX (DTE) - 76
6. Mew VMAX (Fusion) - 67
7. Lost Zone Box (Kyogre) - 48
8. Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone) - 48
9. Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX - 43
10. Miraidon ex - 38

Top 10 Decks Online

1. Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone) - 233
2. Gardevoir ex - 184
3. Turbo Lost Zone Box - 139
4. Lugia VSTAR/Archeops (AR Yveltal) - 111
5. Mew VMAX (DTE) - 110
6. Inteleon VMAX/Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX - 101
7. Lugia VSTAR/Archeops (Single Strike) - 91
8. Mew VMAX (Fusion) - 89
9. Lost Zone Box (Kyogre) - 76
10. Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR - 72

Top 10 Decks in Singapore

1. Lost Zone Box - 12,850 CSP
2. Gardevoir ex - 9,675 CSP
3. Mew VMAX - 9,250 CSP
4. Lugia VSTAR - 7,920 CSP
5. Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone) - 4,700 CSP
6. Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur - 3,410 CSP
7. Charizard ex - 3,125 CSP
8. Miraidon ex - 2,715 CSP
9. Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR - 2,255 CSP
10. Inteleon VMAX/Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX - 2,230 CSP

We do love our Lost Box here in Singapore so it's no surprise to see it being the best deck of the year for us. Gardevoir being 2nd is no surprise either, it's always been one of the most popular deck in any official events. Mew as the 3rd highest also doesn't surprise me, we have many die-hard Mew players here. It's not as popular as it once was but it did win our nationals event.

Top 10 Players in Singapore (Masters)

1. Kashvinder Singh Mann - 2,005 CSP
2. Lim Jit Min - 1,960 CSP
3. Dionsius Lee - 1,760 CSP
4. Choy Kwok Hoe - 1,745 CSP
5. Tan Yong Siang - 1,685 CSP
6. Keenan Jacob Victor - 1,625 CSP
7. Ryan Tan Ye Kai - 1,610 CSP
8. Joey Ho - 1,575 CSP
9. Bryan Quah - 1,530 CSP
10. Kang Yu Xian - 1,380 CSP

This one was just for fun and what I noticed is that most of the players on this list had at least two big results during the year to put themselves high up on the list. I do find it pretty cool that I had the most points scored this year (2023), I honestly didn't expect to see that.