Kash Top 25 List: Best decks from SVI to PFL and how 2026 rotation will affect them

Stuttgart Regional has come and gone and with that, the final TPCi regional is done for the season. We still do have one more TPC major event to go with cards featured in Phantasmal Flames (Hong Kong's Premier Ball League) and while Aichi is happening this week, that will feature cards we will see next year so it won't matter for people who are preparing for the next few big events such as Toronto, Birmingham, Mérida and Auckland. And also for those of us prepping for our League Challenges, League Cups, Great Ball Leagues and Ultra Ball Leagues.

So I thought now would be a great time to look at top 25 decks in this format and up till say January when the next mini-set arrives. And with rotation just around the corner in April, why not see how some of these decks will be affected by it. And spoiler alert, this rotation is a big one and a lot of decks will be affected by it and of course, some of them will soon be extinct (aka my way of saying no longer playable in Standard because the main attackers have been rotated).

So I took 25 different decks, all of which were featured in Day 2 of Stuttgart Regional and show what rotation will do for these decks. And for those wanting to pick up a new deck to play, I'll show the prices of these decks too (as of December 4th 2025).

As a reminder, rotation is G Block so sets affected are:

• Scarlet and Violet (SVI)
• Paldea Evolved (PAL)
• Obsidian Flames (OBF)
• Pokémon 151 (MEW)
• Paradox Rift (PAR)
• Paldean Fates (PAF)
• Scarlet and Violet Promos (SVP)
• SVP 001 to 086, 088, 093-096, 099-101, 103-104, 119-121, 124-125, 130, 132, 137-140, 142-143, 160-161, 167-169, 196, 

I have one rule that can affect the rotating numbers. For decks with evolving mons, if the highest stage is rotating, then every card rotates. If it's not rotating and are using a Basic from the G-Block, they are not considered rotating. 

We are getting Ascended Heroes mini-set too. These are some of the cards that will likely see play that we will get in the upcoming mini-set:

• Mega Froslass ex
• Mega Dragonite ex
• N's Zekrom - 250 damage for N's Zoroark and also a Shred attack for 70!
• Light Ball - +50 attack for Pikachu ex
• Thick Scales - Dragon mons takes -50 against Grass, Fire, Water, Lighting
• Canari - Search up to 4 Lighting Pokemon
• Poke Pad - Searches out any non-Rule Box pokemon

25) Dragapult ex/Blaziken ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 18th

Total Price: $48.16

Cards Rotating: 18 (30%)

• 2 Reversal Energy
• 1 Luminous Energy
• 4 Iono
• 4 Arven
• 1 Counter Catcher
• 1 Super Rod
• 1 Earthen Vessel
• 2 Technical Machine: Evolution
• 2 Artazon

We start with a fun deck that Fabien Pujol has been piloting for a while now, but this might end up being a secondary way for people to play Dragapult ex post rotation. With Zard gone, there "main" way to accelerate energy onto Pult is now gone, especially with Luminous Energy being rotated soon, so I can see something like Blaziken ex helping to sort that issue out.

What this deck, and many other decks, will lose out are great supporters in Iono for disruption and Arven to set up your board and also many good items too, such as Counter Catcher for gust, Super Rod for recovery and Vessel for getting energies. But perhaps one of the main losses is the TM Evo, which will hurt a lot of evolving decks such as this one, especially those with multiple lines of Pokemon in the deck.

24) Cynthia's Garchomp ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 35th

Total Price: $17.66

Cards Rotating: 11 (18.33%)

• 1 Toedscool
• 1 Toedscruel
• 4 Arven
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 2 Technical Machine: Evolution
• 2 Town Store

Cynthia's Garchomp ex is one deck that doesn't actually lose much from rotation, but what it does lose is all it's outs to get Gabites and and Roserades in the field at the end of Turn 1 with Arven, TM Evo and Town Store all rotating, meaning it'll be harder to set up the field.

Everything else isn't as big as a loss, Toedscruel is a new inclusion to deal with Gholdengo and well they're both rotating so they cancel each other out. Turo rotating is a big one for many decks and now the only good way to heal stuff with supporters is Wally and to switch out, we'd need either a Switch or Kieran or a Pokemon with an ability to help with that.

23) Dragapult ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 20th

Total Price: $46.17

Cards Rotating: 16 (26.67%)

• 1 Toedscool
• 1 Toedscruel
• 1 Hawlucha
• 4 Luminous Energy
• 4 Iono
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 2 Counter Catcher
• 1 Super Rod
• 1 Artazon

As you'll see later on in this list, Dragapult decks technically won't lose much but what it loses really does hurt, the big ones being Luminous Energy, Iono and Counter Catcher. Pult decks love to play from behind and the two cards that enable that style of play is Iono and Counter Catcher and with both gone, playing from behind is now a lot tougher when you can't disrupt and gust something up at the same time.

Everything else is as mentioned, Hawlucha rotating does mean the deck will have a harder time of hitting the perfect 70 HP on a Basic Pokémon, or hitting something for just enough to KO with the 10 Hawlucha ping. Turo is another loss for late game Ursaluna attacks but there are like-for-like replacemtns in the form of Switch or Kieran. 

22) Ethan's Typhlosion

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 97th

Total Price: $48.05

Cards Rotating: 11 (18.33%)

• 1 Iron Bundle
• 2 Professor's Research
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 1 Earthen Vessel
• 1 Counter Catcher
• 1 Picnic Basket
• 2 Technical Machine: Evolution
• 2 Artazon

Well this deck is sadly still around, but with Gholdengo rotating, is ther even a point of this deck still being a thing? I feel as though Alakazam has already replaced it as the best budget deck in the format. But Typhlosion can still hit for big numbers with Ethan usage and Brave Bangle and a few other damage modifiers. 

The deck doesn't lose much to rotation. Artazon is a big one as the deck does want to setup a board full of Cyndaquils and Victini and other supporting mons like Shaymin and Psyduck. Losing TM Evo does hurt this deck a lot too. 

21) Dragapult ex/Charizard ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 114th

Total Price: $41.39

Cards Rotating: 21 (35%) - Soon to be Extinct

• 2 Charmander
• 1 Charmeleon
• 2 Charizard ex
• 1 Chi-Yu
• 4 Luminous Energy
• 4 Arven
• 2 Iono
• 2 Counter Catcher
• 1 Nest Ball
• 1 Super Rod
• 1 Technical Machine: Evolution

And now we've arrived to our first soon to be extinct deck. The main reason is because the whole Charizard ex line is rotating thus this Pult Zard build will cease to exist come rotation. There are a few different ways to replace it, the main one being Blaziken ex but you do lose out your end-game closer with Zard ex.

Like for every other Pult lists, losing stuff like Luminous Energy, Iono and Counter Catcher hurts and losing the Zard pieces means losing stuff like Arven and TM Evo to set-up. Chi-Yu rotating isn't a big of a loss as Gholdengo ex is also rotating and decks like these can now just run Moltres from Phantasmal Flames to deal with stuff like Teal Mask Ogerpon ex.

20) Charizard ex/Noctowl

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 1st

Total Price: $35.45

Cards Rotating: 20 (33.33%) - Soon to be Extinct

• 3 Charmander
• 1 Charmeleon
• 2 Charizard ex
• 2 Pidgey
• 2 Pidgeot ex
• 1 Klefki
• 2 Iono
• 4 Nest Ball
• 1 Super Rod
• 2 Jet Energy

Ahhh Dawn Zard, my favourite deck for the past month or so. I'm so happy it won Stuttgart Regional because I was a believer of the deck since November. In fact when I first read Dawn I was already thinking to myself...well I can get Zard or Pidgeot for my Stage 2, what about my Stage 1....and the first thing to hit my mind was Noctowl and here we are! 

Unfortunately this deck also ceases to exist soon, as not just the entire Zard ex line is rotating but the Pidgeot ex line is rotating too! It will be a sad day when that happens. Losing Klefki is also really big for the enitre game as now decks with Psyduck can go unchecked with no real counter with to deal with it. Losing Jet also sucks for a lot of decks, less options to move around stuff on the field.

19) Mega Venusaur ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 373th

Total Price: $26.06

Cards Rotating: 10 (16.67%)

• 1 Toedscool
• 1 Toedscruel
• 1 Wo-Chien ex
• 2 Iono
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 2 Nest Ball
• 2 Earthen Vessel

Mega Venusaur ex actually doesn't lose much from rotation. Toedscuel is only there for Gholdengo ex and they're both gone. Losing Iono and Turo are more painful to the deck. Most decks would also be hurting losing Nest Ball and Vessel but this deck already has Bug Catching Set so that's a like-for-like replacement.

And with more Grass attackers to come in the future, the combination of Meganium-Teal Mask Ogerpon ex-Mega Venusaur ex could help to speed up their attacks much like how the soon-to-be rotated Regigigas have done as a counter to Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex.

18) Gholdengo ex/Joltik Box

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 9th

Total Price: $63.05

Cards Rotating: 22 (36.67%) - Soon to be Extinct

• 3 Gimmighoul
• 3 Gholdengo ex
• 2 Iron Hands ex
• 1 Miraidon ex
• 4 Arven
• 1 Penny
• 3 Superior Energy Retrieval
• 2 Earthen Vessel
• 1 Nest Ball
• 1 Picnic Basket
• 1 Bravery Charm

Well now we reach another deck that will be extinct soon. I will touch on the Gholdengo stuff when we get to the main guy but this deck also loses it's early attacker in Iron Hands ex. Most of the time, Iron Hands ex helps to take your first two prizes, sometimes your next two prizes as well, and Gholdengo ex is the closer.

So with both of them gone.....it's just a Joltik deck powering up Pikachu ex? Yup it's now a Joltik deck (bear in mind, Miraidon ex is also gone). It also loses Arven so the deck will be a bit slower to set-up with no Miraidon, no Nest Ball. Nothing. SER rotating is a bit poetic since it's really only seeing play in decks with Gholdengo ex.

17) Mega Sharpedo ex/Toxtricity

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 173rd

Total Price: $40.33

Cards Rotating: 10 (16.67%)

• 3 Professor's Research
• 3 Iono
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 1 Nest Ball
• 1 Super Rod
• 1 Town Store

One of the main new decks to come out of Phantasmal Flames is the Toxtricity Box, be it with this build with Mega Sharpedo ex or a more Box style deck with many different attackers such as Mega Absol ex, the other Brute Bonnet, Seviper and whoever it may be. Dark Box is back again!

Although the deck doesn't actually lose much, it does lose some key consistency cards like Professor's Research and Iono. Super Rod I can see being swapped for Energy Recycler as the deck wants these energies in the deck anyway. This deck isn't that much affected by rotation so I can see more people likely picking the Tox Box deck up soon. In fact I'm already seeing a lot of these decks at my locals anyway!

16) Mega Kangaskhan ex/Bouffalant

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 27th

Total Price: $40.91

Cards Rotating: 17 (28.33%)

• 2 Jet Energy
• 4 Arven
• 2 Iono
• 2 Penny
• 2 Nest Ball
• 1 Earthen Vessel
• 2 Bravery Charm
• 2 Technical Machine: Turbo Energize

The good news, none of the Pokemon in this deck is rotating, which is much better than most other decks on this list! You're still a Mega Kangaskhan ex deck at heart just trying to make it as tanky as possible with Bouffalant and Lively Stadium.

The bad news? Bravery Charm is gone so Khan won't be as tanky as it could have been. The deck also loses it main support engine in Arven, which helps to get Precious Trolley, said Bravery Charm and TM Turbo Energize, both of which are rotating. Losing Nest Ball also hurts the deck as you'll want to get Munkidori and Bouffalant down in most games (you can replace it for the upcoming Poke Pad but it doesn't search out Mega Kangaskhan ex). Losing Penny also hurts to help pick up a heavily damaged Kangaskhan or any other benched mon.

15) Joltik Box

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 88th

Total Price: $46.97

Cards Rotating: 18 (30%)

• 2 Miraidon ex
• 2 Iron Hands ex
• 1 Mew ex
• 4 Arven
• 4 Nest Ball
• 1 Earthen Vessel
• 1 Super Rod
• 1 Future Booster Energy Capsule
• 1 Bravery Charm
• 1 Vitality Band

Joltik is one deck that was so heavily affected by the upcoming rotation, I did wonder if I should just put it under the soon to be extinct tag but decided not to. Joltik is still around, and it can still charge to Pikachu ex. And that's about it sadly. Miraidon ex rotating hurts the deck's consistency and Iron Hands ex hurts the deck's ability to prize race evolving decks. That being said, Pikachu ex will get a new tool to play with in the form of Light Ball to give it an extra 50 damage, so a Joltik charging Pikachu type of deck might still live.

Arven and Nest Ball are another two big losses for the deck as the deck wants to be as consistent as possible to execute it's gameplan every other match. 3 of the 5 tools are also rotating, all of which have their own useful needs in many match-ups. I'm not even sure how this deck will look post-rotation, or if it will even exist. It might soon turn into a deck that uses Joltik and Eelektrik to power up other attackers with the new Canari being the engine of the deck, in a similar with to Dawn for Dawn Zard.

14) Flareon ex/Noctowl

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 25th

Total Price: $44.38

Cards Rotating: 11 (18.33%)

• 1 Pidgey
• 1 Pidgeot ex
• 2 Jet Energy
• 1 Iono
• 4 Nest Ball
• 1 Counter Catcher
• 1 Vitality Band

Eevee-Box, or Flareon Owls, or whatever this is called, actually doesn't lose much to rotation which is always good news. Sure the 1-0-1 Pidgeot ex line is gone, but some lists don't even use it anyway! Jet is another one that I don't see many lists using. Iono can easily be swapped for Judge so you still have ways to disrupt your opponents.

The biggest lost will be Nest Ball. You still have a lot of outs to bench stuff like Fan Rotom, Eevee or Hoothoot, especially with Poke Pad releasing soon but now the deck won't have the easiest of times to bench something like Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex, Terapagos ex, Fezandipiti ex or Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex which means you will have to rely on either Tera Orb or Ultra Ball, which is not what this deck wants as it doesn't like discarding cards.

13) Tera Box

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 42nd

Total Price: $38.13

Cards Rotating: 9 (15%)

• 1 Iron Bundle
• 1 Ditto
• 1 Mew ex
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 4 Nest Ball
• 1 Earthen Vessel

For Tera Box, you can pretty much just copy and paste whatever I just said for Flareon/Noctowl. The funny thing is, the only thing both decks share that they are losing is the Nest Ball. Tera Orb isn't the best like-for-like replacement as it cannot search out stuff like Lillie's Clefairy ex or Fezandipiti ex. 

I do see Tera Box still being relevant in the meta as it won't lose much anyway. If anything, it might evolve to add more stuff. We could see a mix of Tera and Mega Box in here as you do have Mega Signal to search out stuff like Mega Absol ex or Mega Mawile ex. It's still a good deck with loads of attackers! One of which won't be around is Mew ex.

12) Mega Lopunny ex/Dusknoir

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 28th

Total Price: $40.52

Cards Rotating: 14 (23.33%)

• 1 Pidgey
• 1 Pidgeotto
• 1 Pidgeot ex
• 1 Klefki
• 1 Ditto
• 2 Iono
• 2 Nest Ball
• 1 Counter Catcher
• 4 Jet Energy

Another new deck that showed up with the arrival of Phantasmal Flames is Mega Lopunny ex/Dusknoir! It looks just like the old Terapagos ex/Dusknoir deck that first showed up in Stellar Crown, with many of the same pieces in the deck, the Dusk line, the Pidgeot line, Fez and 4 Rare Candies.

But come rotation, the deck does lose a lot of useful stuff. The whole Pidgeot ex line will be gone but perhaps the biggest loss will be Klefki. Without Klefki, decks can simply shove in a Psyduck and know, unless it gets gusted up, we won't be able to use our Dusclops or Dusknoir for the games. The other big loss is Jet Energy. The deck works so well because Hilda gets you Mega Lopunny ex and Jet Energy to get that 230 damage on the board out of nowhere. These two cards being rotated will change how this deck looks come April.

11) Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 21st

Total Price: $38.27

Cards Rotating: 19 (31.67%) - Soon to be Extinct

• 1 Slither Wing
• 1 Mew ex
• 1 Squawkabilly ex
• 4 Professor Sada's Vitality
• 1 Penny
• 4 Pokémon Catcher
• 4 Nest Ball
• 3 Earthen Vessel

The big bad Bolt is still around....but not for much longer? Raging Bolt ex doesn't rotate, Teal Mask Ogerpon ex doesn't rotate, so why did I put in in the extinct distinction? Well this version of Raging Bolt will be gone. Quite simply, losing Professor Sada's Vitality might be a bit too much for this deck. 

Sure you still have Crispin and can probably play 4 of it for this deck going forward, but have one extra attachment is nothing compared to 2 extra attachments. The deck might now need to rely on stuff like Glass Trumpet to keep the energy attachments going for Raging Bolt ex to hit as much damage as possible. So it can still survive but not having Sada will hurt the deck a lot. Also losing Nest Ball AND Earthen Vessel is a big hit! Slither Wing rotating means you now don't have an answer to Pikachu ex.

10) Alakazam/Dudunsparce

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 50th

Total Price: $23.24

Cards Rotating: 4 (6.67%)

• 1 Jet Energy
• 1 Tulip
• 2 Nest Ball

Probably the best budget deck in the game right now and here is the scary part, the deck loses almost nothing to rotation. Jet energy? Not much of a loss to be honest, it's there to help you get out of retreat lock and confusion stuff, and you can keep re-using it with Dudunsparce. Tulip? Sure that might be the biggest loss for the deck but there are many other replacements for it.

As for Nest Ball? Losing another out to Fan Rotom or Abra isn't so bad, but losing the out to get Fezandipiti ex will hurt the deck as you can't really afford to play Ultra Ball in this deck. The name of the game for this deck is to keep what you have in hand, not throw it. So there is no real ways to just get a Fez down for this deck apart from drawing into it. But other than that, this deck should thrive in rotation, especially with Iono gone which is great news for Alakazam, and with Klefki gone, Psyduck can help to make sure Dusk bombs won't hurt the deck.

9) N's Zoroark

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 239th

Total Price: $57.52

Cards Rotating: 18 (30%)

• 2 Toedscool
• 2 Toedscruel
• 2 Iono
• 1 Arven
• 1 Penny
• 2 Counter Catcher
• 2 Super Rod
• 1 Pal Pad
• 1 Nest Ball
• 2 Technical Machine: Evolution
• 2 Artazon

30% looks like a big number, enough to kill off any deck but I don't think that will be the case for N's Zoroark ex. Losing Toedscruel is fine as Gholdengo ex is rotating. But losing Arven, Iono, Artazon, Super Rod and TM Evo is huge, these are all great consistency card for this deck. Arven and Iono will likely be replaced by cards with similar effects but they won't offer the same pros as having an item and TM Evo for this deck, as you want to get your Zoroarks on board ASAP.

If anything, N's Zoroark might just get a bit stronger come rotation because of the inclusion of the new N's Zekrom from the upcoming Heroes Ascended mini-set. And since Zoroark is a Trade deck, you're not too fussed about throwing some consistency cards once you set up so a lot of the rotating cards will likely make way for similiar cards. The ones that don't have a good replacement is Counter Catcher and Pal Pad.

8) Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 58th

Total Price: $41.38

Cards Rotating: 18 (30%)

• 1 Iron Bundle
• 4 Arven
• 3 Iono
• 2 Counter Catcher
• 2 Nest Ball
• 1 Energy Search
• 1 Super Rod
• 2 Technical Machine: Evolution
• 1 Technical Machine: Devolution
• 1 Artazon

This deck is still around but for a deck that doesn't really lose any of it's Pokemon line, Grimm sure loses a lot from consistency cards. Arven has been key for most of it's game to get TM Evo going Turn 1, Secret Box mid game or TM Devo in the late game, and yes, all of those cards except Secret Box will be rotating. In fact, I'm not even sure the deck might play Secret Box as it'll be a lot harder to find it without Arven but there is a like-for-like replacement in Team Rocket's Petrel. 

Nest Ball won't be a big loss for the deck with the new Poke Pad likely to replace it. Counter Catcher is a big loss for the deck, this deck does like to play from behind and losing that and Iono will hurt that gameplan, as mentioned previously for Dragapult decks too and as I will for Pult and Garde decks coming after this. Marnie's Grimmsnarl will look a lot different come rotation but it should still be a factor.

7) Ceruledge ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 77th

Total Price: $26.50

Cards Rotating: 13 (21.67%)

• 1 Squawkabilly ex
• 2 Jet Energy
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 1 Professor's Research
• 4 Nest Ball
• 2 Earthen Vessel
• 1 Pal Pad
• 1 Super Rod

Ceruledge isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Sure, it loses Squawkabilly ex which means it can't have explosive Turn 1s in combination with Carmine. Sure it loses mobility cards like Jet and Turo, but in all fairness, they aren't all that bad. In fact, I think most of the card this deck loses can be easily replaced except for one.

The big one being Pal Pad. This deck does like to run though the deck quickly, which means you often have to discard important supporters early on, be it Briar or Boss and losing Pal Pad will make it a bit harder to recover those cards. There are some Pokemon that can recover trainer cards but this being an aggro deck, you just want to be attacking all the time. Losing Vessel does hurt a lot too as you won't be able to throw away as many energies as you'd probably like. But the core part of the deck is still in tact so there's still hope for the Ceruledge believers. 

6) Mega Box

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 53rd

Total Price: $59.20

Cards Rotating: 18 (30%)

• 4 Arven
• 3 Penny
• 2 Iono
• 2 Nest Ball
• 1 Counter Catcher
• 1 Earthen Vessel
• 2 Bravery Charm
• 2 Technical Machine: Turbo Energize
• 1 Town Store

30% is a big number for a deck that recently showed up with the release of Mega Evolutions! Mega Box does get badly hit by rotation with losing one of it's main engines, Arven + TM Turbo Energize. It's what the deck wants to see pretty much every game in Turn 1 going 2nd. And it's not just the starting bit, the ability to take hits will take a hit as well (no pun intended) by losing Bravery Charm and also Penny.

But both Mega Absol ex and Mega Kangaskhan are just too good to ignore. This version of Mega Box might not exist for much longer but I can still see both of them being big players in the game for the next 2 years. Khan just has a great ability and can be a tanky deck with Bouffalant and find a different way to charge energies. As for Absol, the next best option is likely the Toxtricity Box for it, or the deck might just thrive on with a combination of Toxtricty, Crispin and whatever it may be!

5) Gardevoir ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 46th

Total Price: $52.31

Cards Rotating: 28 (46.67%) - Soon to be Extinct

• 3 Ralts
• 2 Kirlia
• 2 Gardevoir ex
• 1 Drifloon
• 1 Scream Tail
• 1 Mew ex
• 4 Iono
• 2 Arven
• 1 Professor's Research
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 3 Earthen Vessel
• 2 Nest Ball
• 1 Counter Catcher
• 1 Super Rod
• 1 Bravery Charm
• 1 Technical Machine: Evolution
• 1 Artazon

Well, thankfully it's time has finally come. Gardevoir ex will rotate in the upcoming rotation so this deck is gone. There's not really much for me to say about it. I will touch on Jellicent ex in the next entry. As for Mega Diancie ex, it could still work as it only needs 2 Psychic energies to do 240 damage but getting those energies consistently might be an issue now that there is no Psychic Recharge.

Munkidori will still thrive, just not with Gardevoir. It's likely new best home is either Marnie's Grimmsnarl with Froslass, just Froslass itself, Toxtricity Box or some sort of Khan tanky-style deck. I'm glad to see it gone, this deck just kept getting way too much help honestly, it was getting annoying to see.

4) Gardevoir ex/Jellicent ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 10th

Total Price: $58.62

Cards Rotating: 24 (40%) - Soon to be Extinct

• 2 Ralts
• 1 Kirlia
• 2 Gardevoir ex
• 1 Mew ex
• 1 Scream Tail
• 4 Iono
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 3 Earthen Vessel
• 2 Nest Ball
• 2 Counter Catcher
• 1 Super Rod
• 2 Bravery Charm
• 2 Artazon

Same as above, this deck is finally rotating, thank god. Why was Gardevoir ex good you might wonder? Well it has one of the best abilities in the game. I do like decks that can accelerate energies (Malamar, Welder and Arceus VSTAR to name a few) and because there are so many good Psychic attackers, you can pretty much pick and choose how to attack. And you don't even need to take KOs because of Munkidori which is why this, as some say, is the best comeback deck in the game.

As for Jellicent ex, it will still be an annoying force to deal with in the game. It will need to find a new home and early signs point to it potentially being Dragapult ex or Blaziken ex. 

3) Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 5th

Total Price: $56.89

Cards Rotating: 28 (46.67%) - Soon to be Extinct

• 3 Charmander
• 2 Charmeleon
• 2 Charizard ex
• 2 Pidgey
• 1 Pidgeotto
• 2 Pidgeot ex
• 1 Chi-Yu
• 1 Klefki
• 2 Iono
• 2 Arven
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 2 Counter Catcher
• 2 Super Rod
• 2 Technical Machine: Evolution
• 1 Defiance Band
• 1 Mesagoza
• 1 Artazon

While I'm glad to see Gardevoir finally rotate, this one makes me sad to see leaving the format. Charizard ex and Pidgeot ex, a deck I've played almost non-stop for the last 2 years. Sometimes the BDIF, sometimes unplayable which is why I like it more than Gardevoir, you just never know what you'll get. 

Charizard ex has amazing ability, charging 3 Fire energies onto the board, and to anyone. Pidgeot just finds anything you want. There will still be a Charizard in the format in Mega Charizard X and also the upcoming Mega Charizard Y, but they both will not have the advantage of using Infernal Reign from Tera Charizard ex (They can use Oricorio ex at least). Since the main attacker and engine is rotating, the whole deck is done for. I mean almost half the deck is rotating anyway! It's not the biggest number on this list though.

2) Dragapult ex/Dusknoir

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 2nd

Total Price: $49.34

Cards Rotating: 13 (21.67%)

• 1 Hawlucha
• 4 Iono
• 1 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 3 Counter Catcher
• 1 Nest Ball
• 3 Luminous Energy

Dragapult ex is already one of the best decks in the format and the scary part is, while it's rivals Gardevoir ex, Charizard ex and Gholdengo ex are all rotating, Dragapult ex is here to stay. It doesn't lose much but what it does lose is it's ability to play the comeback games. With Iono and Counter Catcher gone, Pult decks won't be able to rely on sitting behind a Budew to make a comeback anymore.

But that's not the only painful loss, the other being Luminous Energy. It helps to pay one of Dragapult's awkward attack cost and can also be used for Munkidori. Now the deck will have to rely on manual attachments of basic energies to get those going. But with already a stable baseline, I expect Dragapult to still be the biggest threat going into the new rotation. But no fear 70 HP and 210 HP buddies, Hawlucha is gone so you're safe.

1) Gholdengo ex/Lunatone

Best Finish at Stuttgart Regional: 3rd

Total Price: $50.21

Cards Rotating: 29 (48.33%) - Soon to be Extinct

• 4 Gimmighoul
• 4 Gholdengo ex
• 4 Arven
• 2 Professor Turo's Scenario
• 4 Super Energy Retreival
• 4 Nest Ball
• 3 Earthen Vessel
• 1 Super Rod
• 1 Vitality Band
• 2 Artazon

And to answer your question, well Kash who is the most affected by rotation? Gholdengo/Lunatone. But that's more because Gholdengo ex is rotating. And it's not just the main attacker that is gone, the engine of the deck is also gone. Arven? Gone! Super Energy Retreival? Gone! Earthern Vessel? Gone! Nest Ball? Gone! 

What does it mean for the rest of the deck? Well Lunatone and Solrock is such an amazing engine for decks that will live on, be it with Ceruledge ex, Mega Lucario ex, or whatever else people might want to crack it with. Genesect ex might sadly be going back in the binder unless something really good shows up for it to be relevant again.

Well that's all the deck but now time to do some comparisons because looking at numbers are fun!

Decks that are least to most affected by rotation

1. Alakazam/Dudunsparce - 6.67%
2. Tera Box - 15%
3. Mega Venusaur ex - 16.67%
4. Mega Sharpedo ex/Toxtricity - 16.67%
5. Cynthia's Garchomp ex - 18.33%
6. Ethan's Typhlosion - 18.33%
7. Flareon ex/Noctowl - 18.33%
8. Ceruledge ex - 21.67%
9. Dragapult ex/Dusknoir - 21.67%
10. Mega Lopunny ex/Dusknoir - 23.33%
11. Dragapult ex - 26.67%
12. Mega Kangaskhan ex/Bouffalant - 28.33%
13. Dragapult ex/Blaziken ex - 30%
14. Joltik Box - 30%
15. N's Zoroark ex - 30%
16. Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass - 30%
17. Mega Box - 30%
18. Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex - 31.67%
19. Charizard ex/Noctowl - 33.33%
20. Dragapult ex/Charizard ex - 35%
21. Gholdengo ex/Joltik Box - 36.67%
22. Gardevoir ex/Jellicent ex - 40%
23. Gardevoir ex - 46.67%
24. Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex - 46.67%
25. Gholdengo ex/Lunatone - 48.33%

And the prices of these decks:

1. Cynthia's Garchomp ex - $17.66
2. Alakazam/Dudunsparce - $23.24
3. Mega Venusaur ex - $26.06
4. Ceruledge ex - $26.50
5. Charizard ex/Noctowl - $35.45
6. Tera Box - $38.13
7. Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex - $38.27
8. Mega Sharpedo ex/Toxtricity - $40.33
9. Mega Lopunny ex/Dusknoir - $40.52
10. Mega Kangaskhan ex/Bouffalant - $40.91
11. Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass - $41.38
12. Dragapult ex/Charizard ex - $41.39
13. Flareon ex/Noctowl - $44.38
14. Dragapult ex - $46.17
15. Joltik Box - $46.97
16. Ethan's Typhlosion - $48.05
17. Dragapult ex/Blaziken ex - $48.16
18. Dragapult ex/Dusknoir - $49.34
19. Gholdengo ex/Lunatone - $50.21
20. Gardevoir ex - $52.31
21. Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex - $56.89
22. N's Zoroark ex - $57.52
23. Gardevoir ex/Jellicent ex - $58.62
24. Mega Box - $59.20
25. Gholdengo ex/Joltik Box - $63.05

First of all can I just say that 72% of these decks all cost $50 or less to build! If ever there was any proof to how aforable and easy it is to get into the game right now, this is it! And some of these decks might be a lot cheaper if they weren't playing the almost $8 Psyduck (which used to be around $20). 

And sure enough, the most expensive decks are the ones that are the most succesful (Garde, Gholdengo, Mega Box, Zard), which just makes sense to me but the fact that the most expensive deck on here is only $63 is saying something. Thanks for reading!

Kash Top 20 List: Decks from BRS to PRE and how rotation will affect them (Rotation Day in Japan)

 

Picture from @hororopokeca

It's January 24th (in Japan) and while it may not mean much to us everywhere around the World, it's release day for the new Battle Partners set in Japan. But even bigger than that, it's Rotation day in Japan! Which means cards from the F-Block are no longer legal for Standard play. For the rest of us, it will be April 11th.

Let's have a reminder of what cards are rotating, there a whole load of them so I will only focus on the ones that are playable and have seen play in many decks.

Want an easier way to figure out what cards are rotating? Literally anything with a yellow border (unless they have been reprinted with the silver border). So this isn't just any normal rotating, we are also rotating the yellow board cards era which stretches back to Base Set back in 1999 (and yes I still have some of my old Base Set cards still with me)! This is the new era!

First things first, every and ALL Pokémon Vs are gone. If it has the big V, it's gone. That also means the VSTAR mechanic is rotating. Which means were are now no longer able to:

• Starbirth (Arceus)
• Find any 2 cards and put into hand
• Star Portal (Palkia)
• Attach up to 3 Water energies to any of your Water Pokémon
• Star Chronos (Dialga)
• Do 220 and take an extra turn
• Star Abyss (Darkrai)
• Take 2 Item cards from discard and put into hand
• Ancient Star (Aerodactyl)
• Gains ability to stop V and VSTAR mons from using their abilities
• Moisture Star (Goodra)
• Heal all damage from this Pokémon
• Star Requiem (Giratina)
• KO opponent's active Pokémon if you have 10 or more cards in Lost Zone
• Legacy Star (Regidrago)
• Discard top 7 cards from your deck, then take 2 cards from discard into your hand
• Summoing Star (Lugia)
• Put 2 Archeops  Colourless Pokémon from discard onto your bench
• Star Alchemy (Forest Seal Stone)
• Yes it's a Tool card but it still works as a VSTAR on any V Pokémon. Find 1 card and put into hand.

Yes they were all called Star if you never noticed it. As for Giratina, there's another big loss, that is the Lost Zone mechanic. Which means we lose:

• Comfey, the main draw mechanic for Lost Zone (LZ)
• Cramorant, hits for free when LZ is 4
• Miragate Gate activates when LZ is 7
• Sableye spreads 12 to anything when LZ is 10
• Giratina VSTAR KOes active when LZ is 10
• Colress adds 2 more cards to LZ while adding 3 cards to your hand
• Lost Vacuum sends one Stadium or Tool from either side to the LZ including one card needed to use this card

There's one cool mechanic we are also losing, which is the Radiant Pokémon! You can only have one of these in your deck but they can be game changing.

• Radiant Greninja, draw engine
• Radiant Charizard, late game attacker as a single prizer
• Radiant Hisuian Sneasler, adds poison damage
• Radiant Alakazam, moves 2 damage counters around your opponent's side 

But in reality, there are some big cards rotating from this block that will change the game, especially because some of them are the engine for successful decks we all know and love:

• Lumineon V, takes any supporter
• Rotom V, draw 3 card then ends turn
• Manaphy, bench protection
• Bibarel, draw engine
• Radiant Greninja, draw engine
• Kirlia, draw engine
• Comfey, draw engine using the LZ
• Snorlax, blocks retreat
• Archeops, engine accelerator
• Regigigas, engine accelerator

It will take some time to get used to not seeing some of these staples for sure. I especially will miss having Arceus, Giratina and Bibarel legal as these three were instrumental in my Regional win and also my Worlds run in 2023. But we're not just losing Pokémon cards obviously, we will have to say goodbye to some big Trainer and Energy cards as well!

It's not a big list of cards but I felt these were the more important ones to point out and I included some old favorites just in case. 

When it comes to Supporters, we'll miss some really helpful cards:

• Irida, finds a Water Pokémon and item
• Cyllene for the gambling people
• Roxanne, disruption when your opponent is down to 3 or less prizes
• Colress, draw power
• Worker, stadium bump and draw power
• Thorton, currently a favourite with many decks to help switch Basic Pokémon from discard with bench

But the biggest hit I feel might come from the Items because we do lose some really important stuff here:

• Cancelling Cologne, I mean need I say more? Cancels opponent's active effects
• Feather Ball, great for searching out Pidgeot ex especially
• Hisuian Heavy Ball, a card I personally like because you can look at your prizes then take a Basic Pokémon. Helps with prize checking!
• Switch Cart, another switching option
• Trekking Shoes, helps to thin the deck out a bit
• Lost Vacuum, stadium or tool disruptor
• Capturing Aroma, ball search on a coin flip

There aren't any real big Tools we will lose but the obvious big one is Forest Seal Stone, it's too good as mentioned on my VSTAR bit. For Energy we're only losing two big ones. Gift Energy is mainly for Lugia decks but losing Double Turbo Energy will hurt a lot of decks and now decks have to find another way to power up attackers needing two colourless energy to attack. 

And finally Stadiums, there are some big ones here:

• Magma Basin, helps to attach energy from discard for Fire attackers
• Collapsed Stadium, limits bench to 4, often used to get rid of a bench sitter
• Temple of Sinnoh, stops Special Energy from having their effects
• Lost City, sends a Pokémon that was KOed into the Lost Zone
• PokeStop, discard top 3, any Item card discarded goes into hand. 

Losing PokeStop will hurt a lot of decks and it was one of the main draw engine for many decks. That could also be changing as playing a lot of Item cards now may not be the best of ideas with the introduction of Budew into the format. Still a good way to thin the deck out!

And with that, I wanted to share 20 decks from the current format and show how rotation will effect these decks. There are some notable exclusions but these are for the obvious reason that the main attacker is rotating, be it Regidrago, Palkia or Lugia.

#20 Iron Thorns ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 21.67%

Iron Thorns may not look like it will lose much from rotation but losing Double Turbo Energy hurts the deck way more than losing the other 3 cards not named Cancelling Cologne I feel. 

Yes losing Cologne is a big deal for the deck as now it will have no answers to stuff like Mimikyu. But without DTE, the deck might just seize to exist. I feel like if anyone still wants to play Iron Thorns, they should switch over to the Dragapult built.

#19 Dusknoir/Charizard ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

This might be the only rouge deck that won a City League in Japan and it's a really cool way to play Charizard with Dusknoir and of course Budew. It's quite a turbo build with Radiant Greninja, PokeStop and Trekking Shoes in this list which you don't usually see in Zard decks.

And guess what? Those cards, along with Lumineon V, are the only ones rotating so this build might not even last as there aren't many good replacements for these specific cards. So if you want to try this version of Zard, you got a few months to make it work!

#18 Hydreigon ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 6.67%

This build of Hydreigon is only going to lose 4 cards, one of the lesser affected decks but three of them are major losses for many decks! This is just the first of many decks on this list will feel the pain of losing the Forest Seal Stone combo package (Stone + Lumineon and/or Rotom). 

Losing Dark Patch does mean you lose a way to power up your benched Dark mons but that shouldn't be a big issue. In fact, I feel Hydreigon gains one big thing from the rotation, that being the loss of Manaphy from many decks. 

And you might notice one yellow border card wasn't cancelled off because you can easily swap this Duskull to the one introduced in Shrouded Fable. 

#17 Charizard ex/Noctowl

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%

Ok let's address the elephant in the room. Yes that's a Brandon in the list. I don't even know what it does. I just took the first decent list for Charizard/Noctowl I could find and this looked the most decent of the others so yeah, it is rotating, but let's act as if it's a Cancelling Cologne or something else.

This build of Charizard won't be missing the Stone package, in fact it won't lose much. Sure losing DTE means Terapagos can't attack out of nowhere now and has to rely on either two attachments in 2 turns or Zard ex powering it up. For this, I can see either Mela or Crispin making it's way to the deck to solve this issue. Losing Manaphy does suck, but Rabsca is still a thing just in case. Other than that, Zard Noctowl doesn't really lose much. But like any other good Zard deck, losing Thorton will hurt, and we will have to play more of our basic mons now.

#16 Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 21.67%

Yes Chien-Pao is still a thing. Yes Baxcalibur is still around and while the two of them are staying, the deck is losing a number of key pieces. Thorton is a new inclusion so it won't miss that more than others. But we are losing Irida, the key piece to establish Baxcalibur on board!

But if it's not Baxcalibur we are getting out of Iridia, often times it's Radiant Greninja as it is one of the draw engine of the deck, and well that is rotating. But here comes the bad news, the other draw engine in the deck, Bibarel, is also rotating. The deck could turn to Revaroom as a psudeo replacement for both Greninja and Bibarel. But wait it gets worse, PokeStop is also gone. The deck will need a complete makeover to get back into contention but I do think it can adapt. These raindance-type abilities have always been good anyway.

#15 Dragapult ex/Charizard

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 11.67%

Dragapult and Charizard had a big showing this weekend in Birmingham and it's not as if it's a new idea that just showed up, Pult and Zard have had some results over in Japan as well and I do expect it to still be a thing going into rotation. Sure, you will miss the Stone package and Manaphy, but other decks will also have to adapt to it.

The one thing the deck might miss greatly, like any other Dragapult deck, is Radiant Alakazam. It helps to move damage counters around, especially to help you get KOs on 70 HP Pokemon when you can only spread 6 damage counters from Phantom Dive. Alakazam helps to set up some big KOs and sure Hawlucha can help as a replacement to it but while Hawlucha's effect only comes in once, Alakazam effect comes every turn so that's a huge change. 

#14 Pidgeot ex Control

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 26.67%

Pidgeot Control is one of the more affected decks by rotation. It loses a tone of stuff. You can't discard cards from your opponent's hand from Luxray anymore or retreat lock with both Snorlax and Mawile. It also loses Miss Fortune Sisters, one of the best ways to run your opponents out of important item resources. 

But the big loss surely has to be Rotom, Lumineon and Forest Seal Stone. These decks tend to rely on Rotom early on to draw them enough cards to start setting up the perfect board state to either lock opponents or slowly disrupt their setup or hand. Without the Stone Package, it will be much harder to set up Pidgeot ex by Turn 2, which is what the deck needs to get everything going. Losing DTE also means Wellspring Ogerpon now has to do 20 damage with Sob instead of no damage, which is not ideal.

#13 Gouging Fire ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 20%

Gouging Fire actually loses a few important stuff to make the deck running the way it does currently. Not having Radiant Greninja will make the deck significantly slower and not having Magma Basin means you can't just establish an attacker with 3 energy attack cost out of nowhere now. It loses a few attackers as well, Entei V is now gone and even though it's not in this decklist, Delphox V is another big loss as it can help take two prizes on someone not prepared for it. 

The other main loss is Switch Cart. Gouging Fire ex needs to retreat to use it's Blaze Blitz attack again and without Switch Cart, now you are just relying on either hard retreat (or Latias ex), Jet Energy or the new Surfer supporter card. It's still a decent rogue choice all things considered, and can easily adapt to the new format. Let's not forget Hop's Zacian ex is weak to Fire type so there's some food for thought. 

#12 Terapagos ex/Dusknoir

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

Technically, this deck only loses 5 cards. One of them is enough to competely change the way this deck looks into the new rotation. Without DTE, Terapagos will now need to find another way to attack, and that might require the use of Glass Trumpet or Supporter cards like Mela or Crispin. 

Losing Thorton means the deck can't get a surprise Cursed Blast out of nowhere anymore as well. The other cards rotating aren't as big but losing Feather Ball does mean that you now just can't use Noctowl to search out a Feather Ball and Rare Candy to get a Pidgeot ex up and running so we're back to old faithful Ultra Ball for the time being. The new Brock supporter card from the next set might also help with that.

#11 Gholdengo ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

As you might notice, I'm not sharing the Palkia build for a very good reason, Palkia is gone so Gholdengo players will switch over to the Energy Search Pro build. But either side of Gholdengo will miss 3 main cards. Radiant Greninja is one of the deck's draw engine along with Gholdengo itself and also PokeStop, another card also rotating. You could replace Greninja with Revaroom as a new sub-draw engine alongside Gholdengo.

Losing Irida is also big as now you can't directly look for an Item card, likely Super Energy Retrieval or Energy Search Pro, to use right away. The deck will now have to rely on the likes of Ciphermaniac and the combo of either Gholdengo or Fezandipiti to find those specific combos. Ignoring all that, it's still the same deck that just wants to see lot of energies to Make It Rain.

#10 Roaring Moon ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 18.33%

Turbo decks in general will take a big hit in this next rotation as a number of them will lose the combination of Trekking Shoes, PokeStop and Radiant Greninja. Roaring Moon ex is no different but it also loses Dark Patch so like Gouging Fire before it, now it can't power up an attacker that needs 3 energy to attack out of nowhere.

Everything else is still the same, Sada is still the best way to get energies onto your attacker but the deck might start to morph more into a toolbox type deck where it starts off attacking with Roaring Moon and Koraidon first while trying to get Roaring Moon ex ready to attack later on.

 

#9 Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

Speaking of Turbo Decks, I present to you the king of Turbo Decks! And unlike Gouging Fire and Roaring Moon, Raging Bolt only needs two energy cost to attack so it's attack is not affected by rotation. The deck's draw power however, is the one that takes the hit. 

Without Radiant Greninja and PokeStop, the deck now has to rely solely on Teal Mask Ogerpon ex, Prof Sada's Vitality and Fezandipiti ex. The big question going into rotation is the more intruging one, does the deck still partner up with Teal Mask Ogerpon ex or the incoming Iono's Bellibolt ex, which charges up Lighting Energies. Ogerpon attaches energy once but you get to draw a card. Bellibolt attaches energy as often as you like, but it has to be on an Iono Pokémon. 

#8 Ancient Box

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%

It might look as if not much is rotating from Ancient Box but the cards rotating is enough to affect the deck, just ask any Ancient Box players. The deck is another one that is heavily reliant on the Radiant Greninja and PokeStop to run through the deck as quickly as possible. Greninja could be replaced by a Revaroom line which might mean more energies in the deck.

Hisuian Heavy Ball is also helpful to get, usually, Radiant Greninja out of the prizes. The deck still has plenty to survive the rotation, it will just have to get used to finding new ways to thin through the deck as there aren't any good replacements for PokeStop.

#7 Terapagos ex/Klawf

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 25%

This Poison build of Terapagos is one of the decks most affected by rotation. A few of the cards work in tandem so if one were to leave, naturally the other would too. 3 Switch Cart was usually the best way to get Oranguru into or out of the active to get a Forest Seal Stone, and yes those 3 are gone. 

Radiant Hisuian Sneasler is a big loss as it was one of the ways to put more damage counters on Poisoned Pokemon in between turns to help you get KO at the perfect timing, be it before their turn so they can't use Fezandipiti ex or going into your turn so you can get another KO. The other big issue is the loss of DTE. Terapagos and Klawf will now need to find another way to attack, and relying on double energy attachments in two turns isn't always the best way. This poison build will need a complete makeover to be viable going into the next format, or perhaps find another partner.

#6 Archaludon ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 3.33%

We go from one of the most affected decks by rotation to probably the least affected deck by rotation. Yes, there is a Dialga build but since that is rotating, I will showcase the other build that is just based on Archaludon. It's only losing 2 cards! 

Lumineon V isn't even a big loss for the deck as it has ways to find the supporter it needs with PokeGear and these supporters are mostly 2-offs or more. Radiant Greninja however is the big loss, the deck was quite reliant on it to not just draw cards, but to help discard energies for Archaludon ex to make use for it's ability. Thankfully there is a natural replacement in the form of Revaroom, and this is probably the one deck that can easily get Revaroom out of the active thanks to Archaludon, Turo and Scoop Up Cyclone. 

#5 Ceruledge ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%

While I chose not to showcase the loss of Dialga VSTAR in Archaludon, I felt I had to do so for Ceruledge with Palkia VSTAR. Ceruledge has often relied on it not just as a back-up attacker but also to threaten Moonlight Shuriken with Radiant Greninja. 

There is a replacement for Greninja thankfully for the deck in Revaroom and even PokeStop isn't as big as a loss for the deck as it can just replace it with Cycling Road, which helps to discard energy which is what the deck wants anyway. With all that in mind, the deck actually doesn't lose much from rotation and might just be in a better spot for it.

#4 Miraidon ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 11.67%

Miraidon is one of the few decks, perhaps the only one, on this list where it actually loses attackers more than Trainer cards. Losing Raikou V and Raichu V means the deck now no longer has an attacker with 2 or less energy cost for attacks. Both are important for the deck, Raikou for extra draw and Raichu to hit big numbers for a one-hit KO. 

Even Zapdos will be missed as it helped to fix numbers, especially against stuff like Iron Thorns ex with it's 230 HP. And even though Iron Hands isn't rotating, losing DTE means the deck now has to either rely on hitting energies off Electric Generator or from Magneton. And with Budew lurking, you might not even get to use Generator. But there is some hope in the form of Iono and her Bellibolt, that card might completely unlock new combos for this deck to exploit. 

#3 Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 8.33%

And now we come to my personal favourite deck. Charizard actually loses just 5 cards, but they're all quite important to the deck. We've got the trio from the Stone package which helps to unlock the deck's combo pieces so it will greatly miss that. Rotom has a natural replacement in Cleffa but there aren't any replacements for Lumineon or Forest Seal Stone.

Another card that helps with getting the perfect combos is Thorton, you now can't surprise your opponents out of nowhere after they had taken a KO on your Pidgey or Charmander or the occasional surprise Cursed Blast out of nowhere. 

Maybe the biggest loss for the deck is Radiant Charizard, it's the only true single-prized attacker in the deck and it help with the late game prize trade. So yes, Zard is one of the least affected, but the cards rotating will leave some big gaps in the deck. That said, it will still be one of the strongest decks going into rotation however as you still have the holy trio of Charizard, Pidgeot and Dusknoir.

#2 Dragapult ex/Dusknoir

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%

With the introduction of Budew, Dragapult might replace it's dragon brethren Regidrago as the best deck in the format. And going into rotation, well Regidrago VSTAR is gone so Dragapult goes back into being it's own deck and it's already doing so in the Prismatic Evolution format. 

But it does lose some big cards from rotation. Lumineon and Forest Seal Stone helps to enable some key combo pieces for the deck as it does rely on getting the perfect board state. Radiant Alakazam, as mentioned previously, is another big loss as it loses another key piece for it's combo to take multiple prizes. Manaphy is another dangerous loss as the deck might now be open to early game snipes. 

Losing Lance is quite a shame as Lance as finally found it's home in this new build of Dragapult. There are some natural replacements in the form of Jacq or Perrin but for a Dragapult deck, Lance will always be the best choice to help set up your Dragon line. Like Zard before, the deck is still in a fantastic spot going into the next rotation. It still has it's draw engine in Drakloak. The same cannot be said about our final deck on this list.

#1 Gardevoir ex

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%

8 cards rotated. It may not sound like much but half of them will be the reason the deck changes completely. The current Ralts we all play can be easily replaced with another 70 HP Ralts. Kirlia however is irreplaceable. Refinement, or Trade, has always been one of the best abilities in the game and this helped Gardevoir to become one of the best decks since the introduction of Gardevoir ex. 

And we're not just losing this draw power, the other draw power of Radiant Greninja is also gone so the deck might to rely on something like Revaroom, since you do want to discard Psychic energies anyway. Losing Manaphy might not be as big of a deal if the board isn't filled with Kirlias now. 

I'm very curious to see a Gardevoir ex deck will look like post rotation without Refinement Kirlia. Those are all the decks I've got for you and if you're wondering how they all fare for rotation, here's a quick little recap:

Decks affected by rotation from least to most

1. Archaludon ex - 3.33%
2. Hydreigon ex - 6.67%
3. Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex - 8.33%
4. Dragapult ex/Dusknoir - 10%
5. Ceruledge ex - 10%
6. Ancient Box - 10%
7. Charizard ex/Noctowl - 10%
8. Miraidon ex - 11.67%
9. Dragapult ex/Charizard - 11.67%
10. Gardevoir ex - 13.33%
11. Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex - 13.33%
12. Gholdengo ex - 13.33%
13. Terapagos ex/Dusknoir - 13.33%
14. Dusknoir/Charizard ex - 13.33%
15. Roaring Moon ex - 18.33%
16. Gouging Fire ex - 20%
17. Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur - 21.67%
18. Iron Thorns ex - 21.67%
19. Terapagos ex/Klawf - 25%
20. Pidgeot ex Control - 26.67%

Thanks for reading!