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.

Kash Top 23 List: Best Pokemon cards released in 2023 (stats based)

You know the deal, it's the end of the year, I like to do re-caps, we got some good cards this year, I'm a stats and numbers guy, let's mix it all and see what happens! Here's my best 23 cards that got released from the year 2023. Yes I know, how original right.

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).

For average score, it's divided by the amount of events in that specific format and further divided into the quarter it's in (1 for Paradox Rift, 3 for Paldea Evolved, 5 for Crown Zenith).

Some cards came close but didn't quite make the list, as I felt that they either didn't make enough of an impact to be included or made an impact to the meta for a short period or in the case of stuff like Raikou V, it started showing up once the meta allowed for it to thrive. So since I've only got a top 22 list, these are the ones that didn't make the cut, started with the bottom of the list up to the 23rd card on the list.

*These results were recorded on the 29th of December, so unfortunately the last Tournament of Doom results aren't included here.

#23 - Hawlucha - Scarlet & Violet (SVI)

Total Points (IRL): 63 (14th)

Average Points (IRL): 0.92 (28th)

Total Points (Online): 105 (16th)

Average Points (Online): 1.1 (30th)

Wins: 12 (6 IRL + 6 Online)

Top 4: 26 (8 IRL + 18 Online)

Top 8: 46 (17 IRL + 29 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lost Zone Box
• Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX/Umbreon VMAX
• Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)
• Miraidon ex

Ever since Galarian Zigzagoon rotated, Hawlucha pretty much took over it's spot as the math fixer for decks. It doesn't quite do the same job as Goon as you can only hit the bench, but you do get to hit two targets. Decks that have made the best use of Hawlucha this season as primarily been Lost Zone box decks, to help set up the perfect math for Sableye to take two prizes in one go on opposing Comfeys. The other one that usually uses it are Arceus decks, to help the deck reach the perfect number (10 + 180 for Trinity Nova + 30 for Choice Band = 220 on many basic Vs).

#22 - Sky Seal Stone - Crown Zenith (CRZ)

Total Points (IRL): 83 (11th)

Average Points (IRL): 1.02 (27th)

Total Points (Online): 100 (17th)

Average Points (Online): 0.87 (32nd)

Wins: 9 (6 IRL + 3 Online)

Top 4: 37 (13 IRL + 24 Online)

Top 8: 54 (23 IRL + 31 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lost Zone Box
• Vikavolt V
• Gardevoir ex
• Miraidon ex

Remember this card? Yes one of two cards on this list that was released this year and has a yellow border! Sky Seal Stone has not seen much play as the year went on but at the start it was a dangerous tool to have. By using it, any basic V taking prizes on a VSTAR or VMAX takes an extra prize. And it has been highly effective with these situations in mind: 

• Drapion V taking 4 prizes on Mew VMAX for no energy cost!
• Dragonite V taking 3 prizes after KOing a damaged VSTAR or VMAX after Cramorant or Sableye had done the early work
• Raikou V usually taking 3 prizes on Lugia VSTAR
• Zacian V tends to take the final 3 prizes in Gardevoir decks with the ability to knock any VSTAR or VMAX out

#21 - Bidoof - Crown Zenith (CRZ)

Total Points (IRL): 50 (17th)

Average Points (IRL): 0.73 (32nd)

Total Points (Online): 151 (11th)

Average Points (Online): 1.31 (23rd)

Wins: 8 (2 IRL + 6 Online)

Top 4: 43 (10 IRL + 33 Online)

Top 8: 60 (15 IRL + 45 Online)

Saw play in:

• Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR
• Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR
• Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur
• Charizard ex/Bibarel
• Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V
• Arceus VSTAR Box decks

Yes, as you live and breathe right now, be it in 2023, 2024 or 2027. This is a Bidoof card, and it made the list as one of the best card released in the year 2023. Don't @ me. 

It is that good to be fair. Bidoof's ability alone is the reason why decks are able to use the Bibarel engine with no worries about losing Bidoof. Before, stuff like Radiant Greninja could easily take two of them out by Turn 2. But with it's ability, it cannot be hit by damage from bench, which means it cannot be hit by Greninja. Doesn't mean it's safe from Sableye but you should have a Bibarel by turn 2 anyway! In all fairness, Bidoof is on the list purely by association with Bibarel, one of the best draw supporting pokemon in the game right now.

#20 - Technical Machine: Devolution - Paradox Rift (PAR)

Total Points (IRL): 17 (30th)

Average Points (IRL): 2.13 (15th)

Total Points (Online): 66 (26th)

Average Points (Online): 2.64 (10th)

Wins: 6 (2 IRL + 4 Online)

Top 4: 14 (2 IRL + 12 Online)

Top 8: 17 (2 IRL + 15 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lost Zone Box
• Mew VMAX
• Inteleon VMAX/Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
• Entei V/Iron Valiant ex
• Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex

The first Paradox Rift card to make it onto the list and quite easily my least favourite card released this year. This is the evolution deck killer/Stage 2 killer so I'm already not a fan of this card. Remember Espeon ex's first move from back in 2016? Yup this is Miraculous Shrine in the form of a tool card, meaning anyone with one energy can use it. 

It's mostly seeing play in decks that are able to spread damage around, namely Lost Zone Box decks, Inteleon VMAX decks and Iron Valiant decks. You try to be in a position to spread enough damage to evolve everything and take prizes for having enough damage counters on all the basic versions. The deck that suffers from this the most are Charizard ex decks because most of them does tend to play 2 different Stage 2 Pokemon after all!

#19 - Bravery Charm - Paldea Evolved (PAL)

Total Points (IRL): 43 (19th)

Average Points (IRL): 1.63 (20th)

Total Points (Online): 97 (18th)

Average Points (Online): 1.39 (22nd)

Wins: 9 (4 IRL + 5 Online)

Top 4: 11 (5 IRL + 6 Online)

Top 8: 47 (10 IRL + 37 Online)

Saw play in:

• Miraidon ex
• Lugia VSTAR/Archeops
• Lost Zone Box
• Control decks
• Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur
• Entei V/Iron Valiant ex
• Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V
• Turbo Roaring Moon ex

Bravery Charm is similiar to Big Charm from the previous rotation. It is a card with just one line and adds more HP. The difference is, it only works on Basics but now they get +50 HP and not 30 with the previous card. Many Basic-only decks have used it to keep their attackers out of danger, be it a now 250 HP Raikou V, 280 HP Dragonite, 280 HP Iron Hands ex, 290 HP Roaring Moon ex, 200 HP Snorlax or even a 130 HP Sableye. It's one of the best defensive tool cards in the game.

#18 - Mew ex - 151 (MEW)

Total Points (IRL): 47 (18th)

Average Points (IRL): 2.53 (11th)

Total Points (Online): 74 (24th)

Average Points (Online): 1.53 (21st)

Wins: 6 (4 IRL + 2 Online)

Top 4: 22 (7 IRL + 15 Online)

Top 8: 33 (9 IRL + 24 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lugia VSTAR/Archeops
• Miraidon ex
• Lost Zone Box
• Gardevoir ex
• Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur
• Charizard ex
• Roaring Moon ex
• Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR

The only card from the 151 set to make this list, of course, is Mew ex, the card that is pretty much named after the set. And it's easy to see why it's the best card from the 151 set. Not only does Mew ex have a great ability but also it's only attack can be a scary one to deal with.

Restart allows you to draw cards until you have 3 in hand? Remember Oranguru from Sword & Shield base set? Yup it's the same, and you may remember how good Oranguru was in many decks. Mew is seeing play in many decks for the same reason, for the extra draw, especially to save yourself from late game Ionos. 

The attack is also very similar. Genome Hacking copies your opponent's active pokemon attacks. Remember Zoroark BREAK from BREAKthrough? Yup it's Foul Play! And that has always been a dangerous threat. Albeit that was for one Dark energy and Mew needs 3 colourless which is why you do see it being used in decks that can accelerate energies easily like Archeops, Miraidon, Lost Box and Charizard to name a few. Being able to copy your opponent's attack, be it Greninja's Moonlight Shuriken to hit 90 on two of their bench or Charizard ex's Burning Darkness to one-shot them if they have gone down to 1 prize remaining. It will continue to see play until the day it rotates. Sounds familiar? Yup Mew VMAX. There's something about Mew huh?

#17 - Penny - Scarlet & Violet (SVI)

Total Points (IRL): 90 (9th)

Average Points (IRL): 1.51 (24th)

Total Points (Online): 125 (14th)

Average Points (Online): 1.3 (24th)

Wins: 12 (5 IRL + 7 Online)

Top 4: 39 (17 IRL + 22 Online)

Top 8: 62 (25 IRL + 37 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lugia VSTAR/Archeops
• Mew VMAX
• Gardevoir ex
• Lost Zone Box
• Control decks
• Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex

Speaking of remembering cards, do you remember Acerola or Cheren's Care? Penny has a similar role to both as it scoops up it's intended target from the field. But like Cheren's Care it has a catch, it can only be used on Basic pokemon. Decks like Lugia and Gardevoir initially played it as a counter to Mawile trapping one of their support Pokemon as those decks don't play switching cards.

Lately it's seen play in Charizard alongside either Entei V or supporting Pokemon that are Vs (Lumineon or Rotom). Entei can take some hits and when the time is right, scoop it up to prevent easy prizes. Preventing easy prizes is the main reason control decks uses Penny. They will attempt to make Snorlax a hard unit to take down, sometimes even needing to 2-shot it and when the time is right, Penny will scoop up one Snorlax to get the next one in and repeat the process. 

#16 - Mesagoza - Scarlet & Violet (SVI)

Total Points (IRL): 92 (8th)

Average Points (IRL): 1.53 (23rd)

Total Points (Online): 121 (15th)

Average Points (Online): 1.3 (24th)

Wins: 12 (5 IRL + 7 Online)

Top 4: 46 (21 IRL + 25 Online)

Top 8: 44 (16 IRL + 28 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lugia VSTAR/Archeops

Sure a few decks have played Mesagoza a few times but this card has seen play almost exclusively in Lugia VSTAR decks. It's PokeBall on a Stadium card. Flip a coin, if heads, you get any Pokemon. If tails, try again another turn. It is a natural fit for Lugia decks as it's one of the few decks that people like to term as a "run-hot" deck and a coin-flip stadium is perfect for it. If you do get heads, you can easily set your board up by either getting the Lugia VSTAR you need or the last Archeops needed to be discarded. 

#15 - Squawkabilly ex - Paldea Evolved (PAL)

Total Points (IRL): 41 (21st)

Average Points (IRL): 1.59 (22nd)

Total Points (Online): 141 (12th)

Average Points (Online): 1.97 (13th)

Wins: 9 (4 IRL + 5 Online)

Top 4: 34 (5 IRL + 29 Online)

Top 8: 54 (7 IRL + 47 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lugia VSTAR/Archeops
• Inteleon VMAX/Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
• Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX
• Miraidon ex
• United Wings Box
• Lost Zone Box
• Roaring Moon ex
• Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V
• Entei V/Iron Valiant ex

Need I say more about ol' Squawk? It's Dedenne-ex, discard your hand, draw 6 cards. There is one catch, Squawkabilly ex can only be used on the first turn. That's the con. The pro? You can activate the ability on your first turn whenever you want, which means you can start it as your active and still use the ability unlike Shaymin ex, Tapu Lele-gx, Crobat V or Dedenne-ex as previously mentioned. 

And sure enough it's already seen play in all sorts of decks and will continue to do so. It does have an interesting move as well, Motivate can charge 2 energies which can work in tandem with discarding energies from your hand from your own Squawk & Seize. I've seen a few people Motivate to charge up an Iron Hands ex, it's a valid strategy after all!

#14 - Professor Turo's Scenario - Paradox Rift (PAR)

Total Points (IRL): 24 (27th)

Average Points (IRL): 3 (9th)

Total Points (Online): 90 (21st)

Average Points (Online): 3.6 (8th)

Wins: 8 (2 IRL + 6 Online)

Top 4: 21 (4 IRL + 17 Online)

Top 8: 25 (5 IRL + 20 Online)

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex
• Charizard ex
• Inteleon VMAX/Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
• Mew VMAX
• Control decks

I had mentioned Penny not long ago but there is a reason why Penny has seen less plays in non-Control decks since the release of Paradox Rift and it's purely because of Professor Turo's Scenario. It's a reprint of the old AZ card from Phantom Forces. You just put one of your Pokemon into the hand but you discard everything else that was attached to it. Now decks like Gardevoir, Charizard and Mew can use it to scoop up non-Basic Pokemon to not just stop from getting stalled by heal up a damaged attacker. 

#13 - Charizard ex - Obsidian Flames (OBS)

Total Points (IRL): 53 (16th)

Average Points (IRL): 3.05 (8th)

Total Points (Online): 82 (22nd)

Average Points (Online): 1.67 (19th)

Wins: 8 (4 IRL + 4 Online)

Top 4: 29 (11 IRL + 18 Online)

Top 8: 28 (8 IRL + 20 Online)

Saw play in:

• Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Charizard ex/Bibarel
• Charizard ex (Lost Zone)
• Charizard ex/Gallade
• Charizard ex/Arceus VSTAR

Probably my favourite card to be released this year. The main reason? I CAN FINALLY PLAY A CHARMANDER IN A DECK AGAIN WOOHOO!

But yeah it's been a while since we got a good Stage 2 Charizard card. Sure, the last one was the Vivid Voltage Charizard with Leon but it wasn't that good. The last good one is one of my all time favourite cards, Charizard from Team Up. And there are some similarities here. They're both stage 2, they both accelerate energies to each other and they both can do an insane amounts of damage just for 2 Fire Energy. So of course I became a big fan of Charizard ex even before I played the deck.

Traditionally, we don't see a lot of main attackers being in these lists, it's usually a tech Pokemon or a main card in the deck that helps it running (aka Gardevoir ex). The cool thing about Charizard ex is that it doesn't just have one good deck, it's done well with five different versions! When a card is that good and can be played in so many different ways, it's bound to be successful and it did just win the San Antonio Regionals so long may the reign of Zard continue. And that's my one biased entry on the list done.

#12 - Spiritomb - Paldea Evolved (PAL)

Total Points (IRL): 57 (15th)

Average Points (IRL): 2.35 (12th)

Total Points (Online): 131 (13th)

Average Points (Online): 1.92 (15th)

Wins: 9 (3 IRL + 6 Online)

Top 4: 37 (10 IRL + 27 Online)

Top 8: 56 (17 IRL + 39 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lost Zone Box
• Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)
• Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Zone)
• Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR
• Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX
• Gardevoir ex
• Inteleon VMAX/Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
• Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR
• Snorlax Control
• Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V

The Mew killer? Whether it was or not, Spiritomb was certainly impactful. Being able to cancel out Basic V's ability is a lot stronger than people might have first imagined as Spiritomb has found a home in all sorts of decks to stop many things in their path. Some of it's intended targets include:

• Genesect V - Probably the main target but helps to slow Mew VMAX down
• Lumineon V - Got caught in the crossfire with the release of Spiritomb and was played to prevent Lugia from hitting stuff like Research or Burnet
• Raikou V/Entei V - They can't draw an extra card because of it
• Rotom V - Decks like Control or Charizard can't draw extra cards because of it
• Pidgeot V - Control decks can't do a continuous loop if Spiritomb is in the field
• Drapion V - Cannot attack for free vs "Style" decks if a Spiritomb is around so be mindful if you play both
• Zacian V - Cannot attach energy at the end of the turn
• Leafeon V - Same as above
• Sylveon V - Cannot search for an item at the end of the turn
• Galarian Moltres V - Can't attach energy to itself

#11 - Jirachi - Paradox Rift (PAR)

Total Points (IRL): 39 (24th)

Average Points (IRL): 4.88 (5th)

Total Points (Online): 96 (19th)

Average Points (Online): 3.84 (6th)

Wins: 13 (4 IRL + 9 Online)

Top 4: 20 (5 IRL + 15 Online)

Top 8: 24 (7 IRL + 17 Online)

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex
• Lost Zone Box
• Charizard ex
• Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V
• Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)

We go from a hard counter to Genesect to a hard counter to Sableye mainly. Sableye has been a menace in the format since last year, picking off a lot of set up decks due to it's ability to easily reach 10 in the lost zone and getting 12 damage counters around. This is where Jirachi comes in. Jirachi has already won me many games vs Lost Zone decks just for it's sheer presence stopping Sableye doing what it wants to.

Stellar Veil prevents damage counters from being places by attacks, so the three that have been affected the most by it are Sableye, Medicham V and Cresselia and many decks, especially set-up decks, will continue to rock Jirachi in their lists just to make sure those three will not wreck havoc on their bench. 

#10 - Arven - Scarlet & Violet (SVI)

Total Points (IRL): 88 (10th)

Average Points (IRL): 2.14 (14th)

Total Points (Online): 167 (9th)

Average Points (Online): 1.69 (18th)

Wins: 13 (7 IRL + 6 Online)

Top 4: 51 (14 IRL + 37 Online)

Top 8: 72 (20 IRL + 52 Online)

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex
• Miraidon ex
• Mew VMAX
• Charizard ex
• Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur
• Snorlax Control
• Inteleon VMAX/Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX

Probably my favourite supporter released this year! Arven is similar to Volkner and Skyla from past rotations, picking up and item and in Volkner's case, a Lighting energy. Arven's addition to the Item is the ability to pick up a Tool card. Initially Arven saw very little to no play at all, only Gardevoir and Miradion decks were running it and usually it was a one off.

Then came Charizard and Arven became the Supporter of choice. I should know, I called Charizard ex playing 4 Arven in the future in one of my streams in an Obsidian Flames tournament! I was fortunate enough to be one of the first people to get a top 8 finish for a Charizard decks with multiple Arvens in a 128+ player online tournament and now Arven is easily a 4-off. As the year went on, we kept getting more playable Tool cards to the point where more decks are starting to use Arven to make use of them. Inteleon decks now play Arven to have an easier out to get TM: Devolution. Need I say more?

#9 - Reversal Energy - Paldea Evolved (PAL)

Total Points (IRL): 65 (13th)

Average Points (IRL): 2.58 (10th)

Total Points (Online): 158 (10th)

Average Points (Online): 2.31 (11th)

Wins: 17 (3 IRL + 14 Online)

Top 4: 37 (13 IRL + 24 Online)

Top 8: 51 (19 IRL + 32 Online)

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex
• Lugia VSTAR/Archeops (Snorlax)
• Zoroark Toolbox
• Charizard ex/Gallade

Reversal energy would have easily been the best special energy card we got this year if not for another card that got released in the same set. When you are behind on prizes, it becomes a triple Rainbow energy when attached to an evolution Pokemon that doesn't have a rule box. 3 energies! I can't stress how powerful that actually is, to the point that we saw a different version of Gardevoir that relies on going behind on prizes so Shining Arcana Gardevoir and Gallade can hit hard later on.

Gardevoir isn't the only beneficiary of Reversal Energy. The other most popular partner for it is Luxray, also from Paldea Evolved. Luxray can be placed onto the bench if you are behind on prizes. So naturally Reversal is the perfect partner for it and it has seen lots of play in Lugia decks but has also been a one off in decks like Mew VMAX and Lost Box! I'm curious to see what other evolved pokemon will be able to make best use of this in next few rotations.

#8 - Beach Court - Scarlet & Violet (SVI)

Total Points (IRL): 109 (4th)

Average Points (IRL): 1.92 (18th)

Total Points (Online): 195 (8th)

Average Points (Online): 1.99 (14th)

Wins: 22 (9 IRL + 13 Online)

Top 4: 49 (17 IRL + 32 Online)

Top 8: 77 (26 IRL + 51 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lost Zone Box
• Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)
• Miraidon ex
• Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Zone)

Beach Court has seen play mostly in just two types of decks, decks that utilise the Lost Zone engine or Miraidon decks and it makes perfect sense once you see the decks. One of the biggest issue for these Lost Zone decks was having to attach an energy to retreat your Comfeys. With Beach Court, that is now not an issue and Lost Zone decks continue to play it till this day for that very reason.

Miraidon decks also like having Beach Court as most of it's attackers not named Iron Hands ex all have 1 retreat cost, and with Beach Court, it becomes free. Often times you will see them have a Raikou up front, draw a free card and then retreat into the next attacker. But you have to remember, it works both ways! I have seen people lost games before because they tried to trap their opponent's support Pokémon and place down their own Beach Court, not realising the opponent can also use it! It can happen!

#7 - Gardevoir ex - Scarlet & Violet (SVI)

Total Points (IRL): 97 (6th)

Average Points (IRL): 2.07 (16th)

Total Points (Online): 213 (6th)

Average Points (Online): 2.26 (12th)

Wins: 21 (4 IRL + 17 Online)

Top 4: 54 (20 IRL + 34 Online)

Top 8: 74 (27 IRL + 47 Online)

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex
• Gardevoir ex/Mewtwo V-Union

I have done another best of 2023 list and it's a small one but just for the best decks and who tops it? Gardevoir ex. It was a top tier deck the moment it was released in Scarlet & Violet and four sets later, it's still a top tier deck even if things haven't been looking good for Gardevoir ex in this new format. 

With Psychic Embrace, all sorts of attacks have benefitted from Gardevor's ability to charge them up. Sure you have to put 2 damage counters but you get as many energies as you'd like to a certian amount (till you have 10-20 HP). We've seen all sorts of attackers but they have been all good:

• Shining Arcana Gardevoir - the ideal partner in the deck, 60 + 30 for each energy is quite scary when you can keep adding more energies to yourself to do as much as 300 damage!
• Zacian V - Has the same attack as Arcana Gardevoir
• Cresselia - Can snipe the opponent's bench by moving 20 damage counters from all of your Pokemon to one of theirs
• Scream Tail - The more damage counters it has, the more damage it can do and with the addition of Luxuary Cape, it can reach up to 360 damage! Not just that, you can hit anything on their board!
• Drifloon - Does have a similar attack to Scream Tail but only hits the active. It can technically do 480 damage with Cape!
• Mewtwo V-Union - It now has an easier way to attack right from the moment it was summoned
• Deoxys VSTAR - A recent inclusion to combat Iron Hands ex, it's VSTAR attack Star Force hits 60 for each energy on both sides, 4 on the Iron Hands is already 240, enough to KO it
• Mew ex - Well you can use their attack!

#6 - Counter Catcher - Paradox Rift (PAR)

Total Points (IRL): 76 (12th)

Average Points (IRL): 9.50 (4th)

Total Points (Online): 205 (7th)

Average Points (Online): 8.2 (4th)

Wins: 20 (6 IRL + 14 Online)

Top 4: 52 (13 IRL + 39 Online)

Top 8: 59 (16 IRL + 43 Online)

Saw play in:

• Charizard ex
• Gardevoir ex
• Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)
• Lost Zone Box
• Snorlax Control
• Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur
• Miraidon ex
• Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V

It has returned! Released initially in 2017 in the god awful Crimson Invasion set, the card was one of the better cards out of that set. Once again it's been released in the final set of the year but Paradox Rift is no Crimson Invasion, but still Catcher is one of the best cards from the set, if not, THE best.

It's quite simple, yet so effective. If you are behind on prizes, you can gust up any of their Pokemon. It is a natural fit for decks like Charizard, Gardevoir and Control decks as they want to be behind on prizes. Decks that can utilise Arven or Irida like Miraidon or Baxcalibur will have a Catcher as well as it's easy to find! Snorlax Control is probably the biggest abuse of the card. You are never taking prizes so you will be able to trap any of their Pokemon in the active and the deck has ways to recycle some cards so you'd be able to play Catcher way more than you really should be able to haha!

#5 - Artazon - Paldea Evolved (PAL)

Total Points (IRL): 101 (5th)

Average Points (IRL): 4.03 (6th)

Total Points (Online): 214 (5th)

Average Points (Online): 3.1 (9th)

Wins: 19 (6 IRL + 13 Online)

Top 4: 57 (17 IRL + 40 Online)

Top 8: 86 (31 IRL + 55 Online)

Saw play in:

• Lost Zone Box
• Gardevoir ex
• Charizard ex
• Snorlax/Pidgeot Control

Easily the best stadium released this year. This is the perfect card for set up decks like Charizard, Gardevoir and Lost Zone decks so it's no wonder that these are the main ones to use Artazon. It's basically nest ball but with the catch being it can only be a non-rule box basic. These decks love playing it and many of their opponents have not mind having them in the field either! 

It has already been a huge help for these decks, especially Charizard and Gardevoir as you want to fill up your bench with many of these "little basics" like Charmander, Pidgey, Ralts, or even your support Pokemon like Manaphy, Jirachi or Mew. Artazon is here to stay!

#4 - Jet Energy - Paldea Evolved (PAL)

Total Points (IRL): 95 (7th)

Average Points (IRL): 3.83 (7th)

Total Points (Online): 351 (4th)

Average Points (Online): 5.1 (5th)

Wins: 25 (2 IRL + 23 Online)

Top 4: 89 (24 IRL + 65 Online)

Top 8: 92 (28 IRL + 64 Online)

Saw play in:

• Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)
• Lugia VSTAR/Archeops
• Lost Zone Box
• Arceus VSTAR decks
• Charizard ex (Lost Zone)
• Charizard ex/Bibarel
• Entei V/Iron Valiant ex

This one card has turned Giratina VSTAR Lost Zone, a deck nobody really wanted to play by the end of 2022, into quite possibly the most played deck by the end of 2023. When attached, it switches that Pokemon into the active. The obvious target here is Comfey, you can easily pull off 3 Flower Selecting Turn 1 because of this. It's also good to get Giratina into play to get early Abyssal Seeking and hey it's another energy you can use to discard for Lost Impact!

Another deck that uses it a lot is Lugia. No matter if it's paired with Snorlax, the Single Strike attackers or the newer Iron Hands with Vessel, they all get to use another Special Energy to satisify their attack. It's also been seeing play in decks like Charizard to help get things like Mew into the active or get Bibarel out of the active. The newest deck to use it is Entei with Iron Valiant and it makes perfect sense. You want Entei in the bench to use Magma Basin to attach a Fire energy, move your Iron Valiants around to spread some damage, get the Jet Energy onto Entei and attack (don't forget to use the ability)!

#3 - Super Rod - Paldea Evolved (PAL)

Total Points (IRL): 241 (3rd)

Average Points (IRL): 9.56 (3rd)

Total Points (Online): 660 (3rd)

Average Points (Online): 9.53 (3rd)

Wins: 61 (16 IRL + 45 Online)

Top 4: 160 (42 IRL + 118 Online)

Top 8: 221 (60 IRL + 161 Online)

Saw play in:

• Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)
• Gardevoir ex
• Charizard ex
• Lost Zone Box
• Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur
• Gholdengo ex
• Snorlax Control

Super Rod is back! It was technically first released in 2000 in Neo Genesis but with a very different effect. The effect we now know first showed up in 2011 with the release of the Noble Victories set. It has since gotten a re-release in 2015 with BREAKthrough and now 2023 with Paldea Evolved. And everytime it's been good!

Once again it's the set-up decks that are the big winners from having Super Rod, decks like Gardevoir, Charizard, Baxcalibur and Gholdengo have all benefitted from it. But perhaps the biggest winners are the Lost Zone decks. The deck really missed Ordinary Rod since it rotated and while Super Rod recovers one less card, 3 is still good enough! Sometimes being able to shuffle 3 energy cards is better than what Ord Rod was able to do. This is also another card that has turns Giratina VSTAR fortune around. In fact, all four cards in the top four of this list all feature in Giratina decks. No wonder it's a top deck right now compared to last year.

#2 - Iono - Paldea Evolved (PAL)

Total Points (IRL): 265 (2nd)

Average Points (IRL): 10.57 (2nd)

Total Points (Online): 861 (2nd)

Average Points (Online): 12.47 (2nd)

Wins: 72 (19 IRL + 53 Online)

Top 4: 213 (46 IRL + 167 Online)

Top 8: 269 (63 IRL + 206 Online)

Saw play in:

• Pretty much every deck other than Lost Box Kyogre, Roaring Moon ex and any Turbo style deck

We were bound to have one of these cards right. A hand disruption supporter card! Two of the most effective types of these cards in the past were N and Marnie. N shuffle cards into the deck and you draw cards equal to the prizes you have. Marine shuffled your hand into the bottom of the deck. You draw 5, your opponent draw 4. So what if we take the best part of Marine (shuffle hand onto the bottom) and the best part of N (draw = number of prizes) and we get Iono.

I don't really have to say much for Iono honestly, she had made an instant impact on the meta. Pretty much every deck plays Iono, be it a 4-off or a 1-off. The only decks not using Iono are the true Turbo decks. Iono has already won many people many games, be it the person using it or the person receiving it! Trust me, I should know, Iono cost me $200 when I Iono-ed them to 1 on back to back turns only to have them get their exact answer twice! Like N and Marnie before, Iono will continue to be a big presence in the game, and often times decide games by herself. Your eyeballs are mine, caught in my Electroweb. Whosawhatsit? Iono!

#1 - Nest Ball - Scarlet & Violet (SVI)

Total Points (IRL): 594 (1st)

Average Points (IRL): 12.34 (1st)

Total Points (Online): 1262 (1st)

Average Points (Online): 13.45 (1st)

Wins: 119 (42 IRL + 77 Online)

Top 4: 350 (106 IRL + 244 Online)

Top 8: 444 (138 IRL + 306 Online)

Saw play in:

• Literally every deck except Gardevoir ex

On any other year, Iono would have easily been the best card released in the year. Unfortunately for her, one card escaped her gaze. Electro-web? Net? Nest? Get it? Well, Nest Ball is back! First released in 2017 in the Sun and Moon base set (also the reason why I have WAY too many Nest Balls on me), it makes it's grand return 6 years later in the Scarlet and Violet base set. 

Nest Ball sees play in basically every deck except for Gardevoir ex. Search your deck and put a Basic into play. Very simply, very effective. All decks play it for a reason. There's honestly not much more to say. When a card sees play in almost every deck, you know it's good and that's why Nest Ball is the best card released in 2023! Thanks for reading!