Kash Top 20 List: Top Decks from SSH-BRS, prices of the decks and how rotation will affect them

 Now that we've got IRL events again (well some of us at least), we don't just need to rely on results from online events to find the best decklists around, and I believe most of us will probably lean on the decks we seen that have done well in these big events. So far we've had 3 Regionals in 3 different regions (OC - Brisbane, NA - Salt Lake and EU - Liverpool), and we've got one coming this weekend as well (LA - São Paulo). 

So I thought why not try this again, finding some of the best decklists around, compare them in terms of price and how the 2022 Rotation will hit them (I know, that's 6 months away but still doesn't hurt to have an early peek right?). I've always been curious on how cheap or expensive a playable deck can be and it could be helpful for others who are looking for a cheaper alternatives to the usual Mews and Arceus decks (which we know will be expensive).

I wanted to try to do this list differently and instead of ranking them by how each deck has done, I thought I'd rank by the archetype and just have them go back to back on these lists even if one version has done super well and the other not so much, to make it easier to compare if a certain version of Arceus is more expensive or cheaper than the other and which one is better for the long-run, well past rotation. Decks that I've gotten on here have scored at least a top 16 finish in these regionals and the ones who didn't, scored a top 8 finish at 256+ players online events so have something consistent to work with.

Decks featured on here:

• Mew VMAX
• Arceus VSTAR
• with Inteleon
• with Duraludon VMAX
• with Galarian Moltres/Inteleon
• with Galarian Moltres/Galarian Zapdos V/Galarian Moltres V
• with Galarian Moltres/Inteleon/Crobat VMAX
• with Gengar VMAX
• with Beedrill/Flygon V
• with Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX/Inteleon
• Malamar
• with Inteleon
• with Cinccino
• Gengar VMAX
• Suicune V/Ludicolo
• Jolteon VMAX
• Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
• Zoroark Control
• Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon
• Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX
• Durant Mill
• Dragapult VMAX

And also a short summary at the end:

• Decks affected by rotation
• Not by much (0-25% or 15 or less cards)
• Slightly (26%-41% or 16 to 25 cards)
• Severely or Gone (42%+ or 26 or more cards
• Prices of decks
• Budget Friendly ($0 to $100)
• Standard ($101 to $150)
• Spend big to win ($151+)

And as you will see, the guys over at Limitless have made things easier for us and made my life a lot easier when trying to look up these information by showing us how much each card would cost to build the deck and the total price itself. So now you don't have to look at my excel (except for the online based lists) and instead see what you'd see from their excellent site. To keep things consistent with them, I'll also use USD for this and prices are taken from TCG Player as of March 31st 2022.

#1 Mew VMAX

List: 1st Brisbane Regional - Natalie Millar

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 16.67%

Total Price: $162.53

The undisputed BDIF (best deck in format) in this set, last set, next set, and probably up until it rotates in the middle of 2023. No deck has the tools Mew VMAX has and the scary part is, most of it are staying on for the start of the next season, all it really loses is Quick Ball which can be replaced, Rotom Phone which has a straight swap with Switching Cups, and two Switch which at the moment has no straight swap. 

This will still be a force for the next months, and surprisingly enough it's not even the most expensive archetype on this list! In fact it wouldn't even make the top 5 for the priciest decks of all listed on here. This is also likely to be the base list for most Mew VMAX decks you'll see being the first Regional winning deck in 2 years.

#2 Arceus VSTAR with Inteleon

List: 7th Salt Lake City Regional - Xander Pero

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 30%

Total Price: $199.12

And the reason Mew VMAX is not even on the top 5 priciest decks is simply down to Arceus VSTAR. A 4-3 Arceus line already cost $166, more than the entire Mew deck! Not just that, the Inteleon line on here would cost you another $15. So for that reason alone most Arceus decks will be quite pricey. This one is just third on that list. 

This is likely to be the base line for many Arceus decks as well as it has been one of the popular versions for Arceus decks and has been successful in two different regionals already. This version of Arceus will have to adapt when rotation hits as important pieces such as Drizzle, Quick Ball, Evo Incense, Scoop Net and Big Charm will all be rotated.

#3 Arceus VSTAR with Duraludon VMAX

List: 2nd Brisbane Regional - Louis Pozzacchio

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 25%

Total Price: $177.99

Initially the favoured partner for Arceus VSTAR, Duraludon VMAX has taken a step back lately but is still one of the better decks in the format for it's tankability against most things. It plays differently to all of the other Arceus decks and it doesn't use any other support Pokémon which does make it a little cheaper as you don't have to get the Drizzle lines. It's also one of the least affected by the new season rotation.

#4 Arceus VSTAR with Galarian Moltres/Inteleon

List: 3rd Brisbane Regional - Peter Lo

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 33.33%

Total Price: $146.85

While most were trying to make Dark Box (Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon) work in the new format, Peter decided to try something different and add an Arceus line into that package. And now it's one of the more viable ways to play Arceus. In fact, the next two decks following this one on the list have been in some ways inspired from this version to include other V attackers and even a VMAX one. And with Mew still the top target, Moltres will continue to be a viable option for these decks. 

#5 Arceus VSTAR with Galarian Moltres/Galarian Zapdos V/Galarian Moltres V

List: 4th Salt Lake City Regional - Nicholas Moffitt

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 35%

Total Price: $145.76

The one good thing about playing just a 2-2 line of Arceus is that it won't cost as much as the other lists, just $100 for the 2-2 line, $22 for the Inteleon line and the other $20 for the rest of the deck including the Galarian Birds. With Mew and Arceus the two top decks we have, Dark and Fighting type attackers are some of the best counters to have and this deck is one of the few to make good use of both. It plays different to the other Arceus decks since it's not the main center-piece and more of another part of a big puzzle along with many other pieces. 

It is also the cheapest Arceus deck to build if that helps, but on the flip side it gets affected by rotation the hardest of all but one of the Arceus decks mainly due to the Inteleon line and the pieces with it (Quick Ball, Net, Air Balloon) and the pieces to get those counters going (Energy Search, Cape, Court). Future Arceus-style counter boxes will need more help for the future sets to find the like-for-like replacement for these cards.

#6 Arceus VSTAR with Galarian Moltres/Inteleon/Crobat VMAX

List: 4th Liverpool Regional - Alessandro Frenda

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 35%

Total Price: $203.47

This is the other deck hit hardest by the upcoming rotation in 6 months and also the 2nd most expensive deck on this list. As mentioned before, the 4-3 Arceus line and the Inteleon line here would cost you around $180 but that's the price of having a combo that works I suppose. It's built similarly to the previous list but with more of a focus on Arceus with the option of Crobat VMAX to take cheeky KOs. Like the last deck, it's also the hardest hit of the Arceus decks when the next rotation comes around.

#7 Arceus VSTAR with Gengar VMAX

List: 1st Salt Lake City Regional - Drew Kennett

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 30%

Total Price: $216.74

Would you be surprised if I told you this deck was the most expensive deck on the list? Probably not as it does feature two lines of two very strong evolving attackers, but not known to work together. That is until Salt Lake where it won the whole thing as a pair. The 4-2 Arceus line itself cost $130 and the 3-2 Gengar costing $71, with the other $15 spread around the rest of the deck. 

Maybe it's a good thing this deck prefers the Bibarel engine over the Inteleon engine. And because of that, it won't lose as much as other Arceus decks (Quick Ball, Evo Incense, Switch, Big Charm, Air Balloon being the main losses). This list could also be used as a base line for future Arceus decks that might feature other VMAX attackers as the supporting or secondary attacker.

#8 Arceus VSTAR with Beedrill/Flygon V

List: 9th Salt Lake City Regional - Charlie Lockyer

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 30%

Total Price: $147.93

Now for a different kind of Arceus deck that does not feature either an Inteleon engine or a Bibarel engine. The Beedrill box plays a little different as it relies a lot of V support mons like Crobat and Lumineon to get some of the pieces and let's not forget, Arceus VSTAR is also does search out two things for you, another great support mon. 

Not having to rely on a Drizzle engine does have some benefits as the deck is one of the cheaper Arceus decks and also one that won't be that affected by rotation, losing stuff like Quick Ball, Ordinary Rod, Training Court and Air Balloon mainly. 

#9 Arceus VSTAR with Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX/Inteleon

List: 10th Brisbane Regional - Duy Le

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 21.67%

Total Price: $177.93

Initially hyped up as the preferred partner for Arceus but lately has seen little play, with just a one top 16 result in Brisbane and Liverpool which is still better than nothing to be fair. I'm still willing to say the deck hasn't been explored with that much and it could still be a contender if someone breaks it. It is after all one of the better options for an Arceus deck with a VMAX mon.

And it's got a few plus sides too. It is one of the cheaper Arceus decks to build even with the 4-3 line that costs $166, the rest of the money will go into the Inteleon line, the 2-2 Ice Riders and that should be about it. And the deck is also one of the least affected by the upcoming rotation, losing said Inteleon line and a few stuff like Quick Ball, Leon, Incense, Buck and Net. Losing Leon might be the more painful one which takes away the option for one-shotting some VMAXes especially with Quick Shooting Inteleon gone as well.

#10 Malamar with Inteleon

List: 11th Salt Lake City Regional - Gabe Shumway

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 21.67%

Total Price: $33.80

The best budget deck on this list has to be Malamar. Why? It's got two different versions that has placed very well in Regionals, even making finals with this list. Not the easiest deck to play, this takes a lot of practice to perfect as I have been finding it out myself lately. And the two lists are in the top 3 for the cheapest decks to build on this list! This one being a bit pricier only because of the Inteleon line, the 4 Drizzles alone cost 1/3rd of the total price needed to build this deck.

Last time I did a list like this, Malamar was the least affected deck by rotation. It gets a bit more affected this time, losing 17 cards namely the Inteleon line, Incense and Net (which all go together). The next Malamar on the list might have an answer for the future.

#11 Malamar with Cinccino

List: 14th Salt Lake City Regional - Nathaniel Kaplan

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 30%

Total Price: $21.19

And here is the cheapest deck on the list, all it cost is under $22! And it got 14th out of 600+ players so it's a proven quantity even if it's not the favoured way to play Malamar (even Nathaniel mentioned that the Inteleon version might be better). The other reason is cheaper is the lack of any expensive cards in this list, specifically Drizzle. 

Cinccino is the more expensive piece in this deck. But it's also part of the reason why the deck will suffer a bit more from the upcoming rotation too since Evo Incense, Great Ball, Scoop Up Net and Ordinary Rod are all rotating too. The good news is that there is a like-for-like replacement for Cinccino in Liepard so that part fixes itself. So Malamar is still likely to be a strong deck going into the next season.

#12 Gengar VMAX

List: 3rd Salt Lake City Regional - Zac Cooper

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 26.67%

Total Price: $130.71

With Mew VMAX being the undisputed BDIF so far, surely there has to be a Dark deck that counters it right? Many have tried and most have failed but Gengar VMAX is one of the few that has given Mew some troubles so far. The deck can be bricky at times but when it works, it has got answers to a lot of the top decks in the current format as we speak.

It's one of the cheaper 4-3 VMAX decks to build too that has gotten big results at a Regional (with a Top 4, Top 8 and a few Top 16s as well). That's not the only good news, it's also one of the few deck that doesn't get that affected by rotation. Losing Marnie does hurt the Path+Marnie combo but the new Roxanne might fix that, not a clear replacement as it needs to meet a criteria. Only other thing you'd lose are Quick Ball and Switch, which is a big one as Gengar VMAX does need to reset it's second attack so future lists might have to rely on Escape Rope for the time being.

#13 Suicune V/Ludicolo

List: 2nd Salt Lake City Regional - Phinnegan Lynch

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 41.67%

Total Price: $49.46

One of my favourite decks on this list, and the one I played the most ever since Welder rotated but thanks to the emergence of Jolteon, Suicune has not showed up as often as it did early on. It's still a good deck and if you need any evidence, watch Phinnegan's games from the Salt Lake City regionals. There is a reason why it finished 2nd out of 600+ players.

Strangely enough, it is also one of the cheaper decks on this list. For a deck relying on 4 Vs, it costs less than $50 USD in total! And almost 20 of that is going into the Inteleon line. Sadly it's one of the hardest hits decks in the upcoming rotation, mainly because it's main partner, the Inteleon line, will be gone. Quick Ball, Evo Incense, Rare Candy, Cap Bucket and Cape are all gone as well so any Suicune V deck looking to see play next rotation will need to find a new bunch of partners to make it the force it once was.

#14 Jolteon VMAX

List: 8th Salt Lake City Regional - André Chiasson

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 43.33%

Total Price: $132.06

Since it was released, Jolteon has been a force in the meta and even with the new Manaphy being released to stop spread decks, it hasn't stopped Jolteon from topping a few big events, even winning an online regional before this top 8 result from Salt Lake. The deck didn't gain anything new from the latest set but it didn't need it much and it was already a very successful deck. 

Jolteon V being a promo does make it one of the more expensive VMAX decks around since the V wasn't even in an actual set. It also will lose it's Inteleon pieces come September and many of the search power along with it. It also loses one of it's best game plan of going Path and Marnie as the latter is also rotating (but Roxanne is coming).

#15 Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX

List: 1st Liverpool Regional - Robin Schulz

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 40%

Total Price: $46.83

The old favourite has been missing since the start of this format but former World Champion Robin has brought it back to the spotlight and many will likely rely on his new list for it as it is a regional winning list, even if it may look very different to other Rapid Strike Urshifu lists of the past year. It is now the cheapest deck featuring a V or a VMAX attacker on the list, mainly due to the League Battle deck and because this list only uses a 2-2 line, you could take that deck, add in the Inteleon lines, the Dark package and the wacky 1-offs and the supporters to have the deck ready to play.

The deck will soon  have to face the rotation which means it's favoured partner since the release of Chilling Reign, the Inteleon line, will be missing in action. The deck did so alright without it first but it will need a new draw/search engine to keep up. And many other stuff for that matter as 40% of the deck will be rotated. It should still find a way as stuff like the Octillery engine and the Dark stuff will stick around.

#16 Zoroark Control

List: 5th Liverpool Regional - Sander Wojcik

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 48.33%

Total Price: $31.59

Well Control is back and surely we're not surprised by this, Sander always finds a way to make it work. This list will likely be the backbone for all Control decks going forward for the next few months with a few changes likely to be made to adapt to the meta. There are some pros and cons for these types of decks, the pro being how cheap the deck is to build, it's the second cheapest on this list. The con however is the fact that almost half the deck is rotating, the second highest of any deck on this list.

#17 Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon

List: 16th Salt Lake City Regional - Muhammad Ideis

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 43.33%

Total Price: $50.26

This version of Dark Box has been a budget favourite for the last few months, relying mostly on just Galarian Moltres, Hoopa, sometimes Galarian Weezing, and a few times Sableye V as well. The deck has evolved to a point where having a few V attackers is the right way to go, with both Moltres and Zapdos in this list but both not costing that much to get making the deck still a great budget choice. 

It will sadly take a big hit when the new rotation comes. The Inteleon line will be gone, and taking Quick Ball, Scoop Up Net, Evo Incense, Energy Search, Air Balloon, Training Court and Energy Retrieval along with it, all very important pieces to allow the deck to keep attacking with Moltres and whichever attacker is needed. One of them, Hoopa, is also rotating so it'll need to likely rely on a new support attacker for the early game. 

#18 Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX

List: 4th Late Night 30 - Pedro Vicêncio

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 31.67%

Total Price: $61.46 (I forgot to put the $7.62 for the 2 Inteleons from CRE on this list)

Personally, Ice Rider is still my favourite deck to play out of any deck on this list. Is it the best? Even I know it's sadly not but it's one of those decks that on it's day, can take a big win just as Le Bui just did on the same day of me writing this down. This is a deck that can beat Arceus, can also beat Mew if all the pieces fell your way, can beat Gengar and can also beat Malamar if they miss a beat. 

Ice Rider is one of the cheapest VMAX attacking decks to get as well, cost only $62 at most to build the whole thing and it will get cheaper as Ice Rider will get a new league battle deck with a 3-3 line included, which will give it the Rapid Strike Urshifu effect and make it cheaper thanks to the box being easily accessible. It will lose some important parts though, mainly the Inteleon line along with Marnie, Quick Ball, Evo Incense, Cap Bucket, Scoop Up Net and Air Balloon, all cards that are not easily replaceable with cards in our current card pool as it stands so the deck, if it were to survive, will have to look a lot different come September. That or just be another Arceus deck. 

#19 Durant Mill

List: 1st Place Late Night #29 - Andrew Weiss

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 46.67%

Total Price: $36.71

We don't just have a good Control deck that has proven itself in this format but we've also got a Mill deck that has won a 256+ person tourney already, albeit in the online world. Still, it was one of the first few big events of the new BRS format so everyone was still trying to figure out what worked and what didn't. Durant apparently worked well right off the bat. 

And it's not that difficult to build, being the 4th cheapest deck on the list. That's the big plus. There is however a big minus, as it's the 3rd highest affected by the rotation of any lists on here. Sure, losing Cinccino won't hurt it much with the new Liepart but losing stuff like Quick Ball, Scoop Up Net, half of their energies, Snorlax but most importantly, Cursed Shovel and Galar Mine could give the deck a real re-think going into the next season.

#20 Dragapult VMAX

List: 6th Late Night 31 - Zach Porlier

Cards affected by rotation in deck: 48.33%

Total Price: $62.10

Once the BDIF of the format, those days are long gone now that Mew VMAX is not just the best Psychic attacker in the game but the undisputed BDIF in the game. It's still a decent choice to be fair, if it can hit all the Dark-attackers whose primary aim is to get Mew and Dragapult sadly gets in the crosshairs of that war, as does another former BDIF in Shadow Rider Calyrex. 

It is one of the cheaper VMAX decks to build in all fairness, having been released as a promo-set thanks to Shining Fates. The biggest issue for this deck is that this whole thing will be gone come rotation as Dragapult VMAX, the only main attacker on the list, is one of the few surviving VMAXes from the first few sets that still has some presence in the meta. For that reason I don't see many wanting to spend any money on this when there's a few better options out there, be it VMAX attackers, decks relying on Inteleon engines or spread attackers. 

Just a summary of which decks are more or least affected and because we're still moths away from Rotation, I'll change the numbers around to make it look more fair than say if it was 2-3 months to go:

Not affected by much: (0-25% -> 15 cards or less rotating)

• Mew VMAX - 16.67%
• Arceus VSTAR/Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX - 21.67%
• Malamar/Inteleon - 21.67%
• Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX - 25%

Slightly affected: (26%-41.67% -> 16 to 25 cards rotating)

• Gengar VMAX - 26.67%
• Arceus VSTAR/Inteleon - 30%
• Arceus VSTAR/Gengar VMAX - 30%
• Arceus VSTAR/Beedrill/Flygon V - 30%
• Malamar/Cinccino - 30%
• Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX - 31.67%
• Arceus VSTAR/Galarian Moltres/Inteleon - 33.33%
• Arceus VSTAR/Galarian Moltres/Galarian Zapdos V/Galarian Moltres V - 35%
• Arceus VSTAR/Inteleon/Crobat VMAX - 35%
• Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX - 40%
• Suicune V/Ludicolo - 41.67%

Severely affected or gone case: (43%+ -> 26 cards or more rotating)

• Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon - 43.33%
• Jolteon VMAX - 43.33%
• Durant Mill - 46.67%
• Zoroark Control - 48.33%
• Dragapult VMAX - 48.33%

Of the decks I've got on here, only one is completely dead in the coming months (Dragapult) but a few others will need a completely new direction with the loss of Drizzle. Jolteon, Dark Box, Suicune, Ice Rider and a few Arceus decks all get quite badly hit by losing them. 

As if Mew VMAX being the BDIF wasn't scary enough, it's the least affected of the current decks as things stand! All it loses is Quick Ball (can be fixed with the new Feather Ball) and Rotom Phone (also can be fixed with either Switching Cups or Energy Lotto) so it really doesn't lose anything. The Arceus decks that don't lose out much are the ones that feature secondary VMAX attackers since they either focus on a Bibarel engine or in other cases like Duraludon, are fine without anything else. Gengar is another one that won't lose much, a possible deck to get early on to use for the next few months or the whole year.

And just a recap or how cheap or expensive these decks are:

Budget Friendly ($0-$100)

• Malamar/Cinccino - $21.19
• Zoroark Control - $31.59
• Malamar/Inteleon - $33.80
• Durant Mill - $36.71
• Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX - $46.83
• Suicune V/Ludicolo - $49.46
• Galarian Moltres/Hoopa/Inteleon - $50.26
• Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX - $53.84
• Dragapult VMAX - $62.10

Standard Prices ($101-$149)

• Gengar VMAX - $130.71
• Jolteon VMAX - $132.06
• Arceus VSTAR/Galarian Moltres/Galarian Zapdos V/Galarian Moltres V - $145.76
• Arceus VSTAR/Galarian Moltres/Inteleon - $146.85
• Arceus VSTAR/Beedrill/Flygon V - $147.93

Spend big to Win ($150 >)

• Mew VMAX - $162.53
• Arceus VSTAR/Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX - $177.93
• Arceus VSTAR/Duraludon VMAX - $177.99
• Arceus VSTAR/Inteleon - $199.12
• Arceus VSTAR/Inteleon/Crobat VMAX - $203.47
• Arceus VSTAR/Gengar VMAX - $216.74

Previous for the Spend big portion, I would put it as $200 or more but the differences for these decks didn't seem enough for me to justify $200 as the last part, so I went for $150 this time around. The full Arceus line itself will cost around $166 and a 4-3 Mew with 4 Genesect will cost around $147 so that made me think $150 was a better benchmark for it.

Obviously the spend big to win isn't all true, you don't need an expensive deck to win, Malamar almost did just win a Regional and it's one of the cheapest options for us. Those expensive decks are often times likely to win as they are usually the better decks of the format. It is interesting to see many older favourite now in the Budget friendly option like Suicune V, Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX and Dragapult VMAX, decks that at one point where quite pricey and also the top tier decks. And now that I mention it, I did spend quite a lot of money build all 4 decks (the only 4 I had before I spent on Arceus) so that's a big whoops for me. 

Thanks for reading, and I hope someone out there finds this helpful in anyway. Have a good day!

My new route to Worlds 2022 - Need to Top 4 Singapore Nationals, if I even make it there!

We finally have news on events here in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines! Finally! (And I have updated it with the latest news we've heard)

We've been patiently waiting for this news since we first heard that we were no longer a part of the Oceanaia contingent under TPCi and now fall under TPC. We've heard nothing for the longest time, no events for those of us to really look forward to. I'm not counting the remote play stuff, I don't like the idea of doing events through webcam when people can find a way to cheat through it, just not for me. I would rather wait for live events then play the webcam stuff. I mean, we still had PTCGO too.

And while everyone has been away and not playing for about 2 years, I've been playing on PTCGO almost every day with the simple aim to improve myself as a player through these online events. And now with events coming back, it's time to see if the grind was worth it, whether I've actually improved or not. So far I can't tell because I've been to locals 3 times and have gone 1-2 in all 3 local events, mostly because of Mews doing Mew things and hitting bad matchups too many times.

So we've now got news about the National Championships, something we knew about from the first announcement a year ago. Initially we thought we still had Leagues and Towns (Cups and Challenges) and by winning those, you get round byes for the Regionals or Nationals. Now we don't even have the Regionals, which was going to give the winner a spot into Worlds (which still only meant 8 people would go to Worlds which doesn't feel a lot to me).

The new details we got now makes it a bit more clearer or what will happen. So these are the details shared by my friend Nicholas Yong shared on his Facebook page The Southern Islands. And the updated news we got later on (April 1st) will be edited in and highlighted in red.

1. Official shops (certified Pokemon TCG Gym shops) will host “shop qualifier tournaments”. The winners of these tournaments will be able to participate in their country’s respective National Championships.
2. Each tournament will host 4-16 players (depending on the country’s current COVID-19 rules for group gatherings and player participation). Shops can decide how they would want to manage this. Now we know for a fact that it is just 4 players per session. 48 sessions, shops have a morning and afternoon session, some shops gets two dates. Players pick 3 choices of which sessions they want to play in and they will be assigned to one of them. Sadly, it's also a best of 1 format, 3 swiss rounds for these shop qualifiers.
3. The structure is now a bit more clear. 

• First we have the Shop Qualifiers (STAGE 1) where 48 qualifiers will be decided. A likely total of 192 players will participate all around Singapore, not too sure the number for Malaysia and the Philippines as of yet. 
• Then it is the Finalist Round (STAGE 2) where the 48 players will be divided into groups of 4 to play in 12 different sessions, also best of 1, 3 swiss round and that will decide the Top 12 
• The winners of these finalist rounds will move on to the Top Cut Playoffs (FINAL STAGE). Not completely sure how this will be done but if I were to guess, same as usual, swiss rounds, like best of 1 due to TPC's insistence on using that format, and then the top 4 will play it out to see who gets the Day 2 invite to Worlds.

1. Shops will host two tournaments each – that means each shop will have two representatives for their country’s respective National Championships! We are unsure if shops are allowed to host additional tournaments. Some do have two different dates just in case.
2. A player who has won a shop qualifier tournament cannot attend another shop qualifier tournament. That is because every player is only allowed to attend one qualifier session.
3. Based on previous posts on the Pokemon Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines websites, the winner of the National Championships gets a Day 2 invite to the World Championships 2022 in London; Top 4 places will receive a Day 1 invite.
4. Previous players who have qualified for London 2022 using the old CP system in the 2019/2020 season will play what I call “Day 0” – so there is incentive to play in their National Championships.

My first reaction is, why is Nationals now a glorified Invitational event? So not all of us can actually play in it, which is a real shame, it would be nice if everyone had a shot at winning it. Making it a glorified invitationals for just the shop qualifier winners isn't the worst idea, it means the best of the best in Singapore, Malaysia and the Phillipines will play it out to get those 4 spots to Worlds, then you really do have the best representatives for worlds for each country.

So how does one get into the Nationals in the first place?

But then that's where the other issue comes in. You have to get in through the Shop qualifiers and from what we know, they can only host up to 16 players. Trust me, more than 16 will sign up for every shop's events because there are a lot of active PTCG players here in Singapore. So some people might not even get a shot of making it to Nationals because they never even got to play in a Shop qualifier because only the previous winners won't be allowed to win so you could still end up seeing the same 10-12 people in all of these events. I do plan to play in as many of them to maximise my chance of making it into the Nationals, since it's my only shot of making it to Worlds now.

And to make things even more tricky, looking at the first point, these shop qualifiers will be done in certified TCG Gym shops. And for Singapore, if we look at the official site, we've only got 8 gyms but now we know other local shops will be hosting the shop qualifiers as well:

• Sanctuary Gaming (Somerset - Central)
• Project EXT (Bugis - Central)
• Agora Hobby (Lavender - Central/East)
• Goodness Gracious Games (Farrer Park - Central)
• Brick's Play (Toa Payoh - Central)
• Active Games Collection (Serangoon - North/East)
• Games Academia (Tai Seng - East)
• Next Gen Gaming (Tai Seng - East)
• 1 Collectables (Paya Lebar - East)
• The Imaginarium (Upper Changi - East)
• Daimonji Collectibles (Clementi - West)
• TableTop (Pearl Hill - Central)
• Toys Terminal (Yishun - North)
• War Games (Ang Mo Kio - Central/North) 
• Cardboard Collectible (Chinatown - Central)
• Rowell Video Pte Ltd (Serangoon North - North/East)
• G28 Trading (Tampines - East)
• Tanoshimou (Ang Mo Kio - Central/North) 

All these shops are technically mostly in Central Singapore apart from the last two. So no official Gyms in the West, East or Northern areas which could make travel a little tricky but still makes sense since we all go to these Central areas to play locals anyway. That is no longer an issue as non-Gym shops will be hosting these events as well so players from the Northern, Eastern and Western areas have a place closer to them to play now.

But if we do the maths, that's only 8 shops, and since they each will have two representatives, that is only 16 players competing in the biggest tournament here in Singapore. Only 16 players have a shot of getting the 4 spots to Worlds out of the 100+ active PTCG players we have around here. It doesn't make my job any easier. I mean, I still have to win one of these shop qualifiers just to make it into the big show, and that is also if I make it into the roster for these shop qualifiers! Now we know it's not just 8 shops, but around 18 shops. The issue here is only 4 players per session at one time. It's estimated that 192 players will join, and I can safely say we probably do have 192 or more active players, most either play other games or play for fun and probably do want to join in. Heck even the collectors might want to try their luck in these, you never know.

The job doesn't get any easier for me though, since it is a best of 1 format, and just 3 swiss rounds to decide who moves on to the next stage. Everyone knows how much I dislike best of 1 formats, it has little to do with the players skill because sadly, one bad hand could completely ruin your match, or in this case your entire qualifier and in the bigger picture, your whole season! Your whole season could end within minutes of the event starting because of the best of 1 format and Mew is the most popular deck in Singapore so you can imagine how bad this will go for a lot of us. 

This is why I am not a fan of this new format. I will try my best but now it's no longer about how good I am but more about how lucky can I be to avoid any trouble in 3 games, avoid possible bad matchups and don't dead draw. Just win right? That will be my plan.

So the path to Worlds looks quite straight forward right?

1. Get into one of the up to a limit of 16 registered spots for a shop qualifier tournament (8 of them in total, two qualifiers)
2. Win a shop qualifier to make Singapore Nationals (along with likely only 15 others)
3. Finish Top 4 in Nationals (Win for Day 2, Top 4 is Day 1)

Sadly it doesn't look that simple or as straight forward as it seems. I mean these shops can only hold up to a limit 16 people for starters so I might not even make it to a number of these qualifiers. 

Also, there's many active players in Singapore so imagine all of us just trying to get a spot. And I'm not sure how it even works, hopefully it's not some system where friends can book spots for their friends to be in, I've missed the chance to play in local games because of that. 

So I would need to be on the lookout for pages and info for these registrations and knowing myself, I might miss some of them because I never heard of the information. Don't worry, I didn't forget to register. I don't really have that many friends to help me get those information either so that makes it even more tougher for me. I was the one who told my friends haha!

So what are the odds of getting to Worlds for someone like myself?

I mean for starters the odds of me just being in the event (the qualifying one, let alone the National) itself is already quite low. Then we remember that I need to win a qualifier. Not get a good result, win the damn thing. And in a best of 1 format too! Can't dead draw even once, just need to win out since there is only 3 swiss rounds.

And how do we make the odds even smaller? Oh yeah did I ever mention the players I would likely have to play against? We have at least 10 worlds calibre players in Singapore already, many more who haven't made it to worlds but are good enough to make it there one day. And to think only 4 makes it to Worlds as it stands. I mean I can name you 4 players from Singapore most of you have already heard of, Clifton, Jit Min, Joey, Klive and then there's even more guys who have been to worlds before that are just as good. A few of them won't make it to worlds because of this new system. That is just crazy to me. Now my hope is that I don't see any good players in my sessions, just give me 3 people who are just playing this for fun and make my life a bit easier haha. If I do see one good player (and there is a small chance that it might happen actually, I need to be on my best to stay in the running to reach the ultimate goal of making Worlds, that's been the dream all these years).

Some already have their spot in worlds from the old CP route but this gives them a spot in Day 1 or 2 and not 0 so those guys would probably fight it out as well so now we have to add them into the mix.

And there's also the fact that there is a lot of new players in the playing scene and are eager to try their luck too. I've seen a few of them from my 3 trips to my local store and I have seen posts from other store with many more new players at these events. So we have them to add to the mix as well.

Considering all that, the odds of me being one of the four at the end of the Nationals is really really REALLY quite small. I mean, I'm still not sure why there is even only 4 of us going to Worlds as it stands. Back in the CP days, there'd be about 8 Singaporean players going to Worlds and after OCIC 2020, we were on pace to see maybe even around 12 of us make it to Worlds. 

But hey, a route is still a route to Worlds right? The journey has to start somewhere!

Even if it's the impossible task, I'm still going to try my best to get there. Honestly speaking I want to make it to Worlds not just to win the thing (I mean who doesn't) but also for the chance to see my friends in person and the rare chance to play against the best players from around the world live. I've had the chance to play some of the best players in the world in the online scene but the chance to do it live is something else. It used to be a chance we could get going to bigger events, now that's reserved only for Worlds. I must have been asleep when I wrote that last sentence because I don't even know what I was trying to say. But the point is, we used to have a chance to play in bigger events, going to regionals in say Malaysia, Australia, or go the IC events in Europe and the USA. Now, the only chance any of us will ever get to play international players in a big time setting, is the damn Worlds itself and it will only be the 4 of us. 

But if I do get there, that would be an awesome experience. But I also get to see my friends too. That's the thing that is driving me on as well. I've made so many friends from the US, Canada, UK, around Europe, around Latin America and also in Japan and other parts of Asia and I can't just go to an IC or Regionals to play and meet them, there's no point since I can't fight for points. Technically I could if I were to move overseas and change my home address and apparently I would need to make a new account as well. Money is tight for me too. What I do would do just to have a chance to see any of them (or even you, yes you the one reading this right now, I might know you too!) at Worlds, that would be fun. 

Some might say we have the hardest route to Worlds now. And now we can confirm with the latest details. Best of 1, 3 stages, top 4 out of 192 players. No CP chase, not many of events to grind for, just the one event and done for the time being. No mistakes, everything has to go right that day and that day alone. Well, everything has to go right for the 3 days for all 3 stages for me to have a shot of making Worlds. I've been playing this game a lot longer than many might actually know, but only took it seriously since 2016, and I'd love for a chance to have a shot at playing Worlds, even if it's just for one time. That would be a real dream come true, you have no idea what it would mean to me to have the chance to compete against the best players in the Worlds. Even if I only ever get the one chance, I would do everything and anything in my power to make it happen.

I didn't do good enough in my first two attempts at trying to be a competitive player and I was half-way there in 2020 before everything got wiped out. Time to see if all that game time I've been doing for the past year or so have been worth it. I know the odds are quite small but I have to try my best to get to London...for a second time in two months, the first being my graduation a month earlier (if I decide to make the trip)!

Thanks for reading and if you're in the same boat as I am (SG/MY/PH), do your best and give it your all! We don't have the easiest path but I hope that someone from South East Asia does win it all to prove that we do have some of the best players in the world here. And for the rest of you, keep chasing those CP, do your best at the regionals and get that Worlds invite! Hopefully we can meet one day at a Worlds event. :)

Kash Top 15 List: Cards from Brilliant Stars

 So I just noticed that the last time I did one of these was for Battle Styles. Yes, a whole year ago. I complete forgot, whoops! But it's all good, I've found some spare time to do one for Brilliant Stars just a day before it's released thanks to my Switch now having some screen issues so I have to put my Legends Arceus journey on hold.

Having had a look through the set, there are quite a number of great playable cards in here for us to look forward to. Of course this is also a good set for collectors with the character rares being included featuring playable cards from previous sets but they won't count in here. And of course, I've only got 15 of them here but there were a number of cards on my wishlist that I had to cut but wanted to give an honourable mention:

• Liepard (Similar to Zoroark-GX and Minccino, it's the same ability!)
• Moltres (Similar to Zapdos and Hoopa, one energy cost needing a specific thing to happen to attack for 90)
• Raikou V (Similar to Suicune V and Entei V....or should I say the same card, just different typing!)
• Cinccino (Similar to Lotad for Call for Family, always a good turn 1 attack)
• Raichu V (Attacks for all sorts of amounts of damage if you can energies on board quickly)

So here's my own opinion of the 15 best cards coming out of Brilliant Stars. Obviously there might be some better ones I have missed out on, I just took a quick look through of the set list to see what popped out for me and the cards I kept hearing about from the others. And because it's quite last minute, it will look a bit messy so apologies for that. 

Also I'll include the cards that these cards were similar to as many of them are quite identical to great cards from the past, some with better versions and some maybe not so, but still are old favourites. A lot of them are from XY Breakthrough as you will see. 

(Prices are as of 24th February, based on TCG Player)

#15 - Collapsed Stadium - 137/172 - UC - $0.32

Similar to: Parallel City (XY Breakthrough)

Bench restriction is back in the game after a long while. In the past we had Sudowoodo that did something similar at the cost of it taking a spot in your bench too and if it got knocked out, your opponent goes back up to 5. 

This does something similar to Parallel City where it can hurt your opponent's set up while also taking away an awkward bench sitter for you. Back then, you had to make one choice or the other but with Collapsed Stadium, it fixes that by doing both. And with Stadium wars being a big thing now, this will probably see play. Decks like Mew, Suicune/Entei/Raikou, Inteleon and Eternatus won't want to see this. 

#14 - Entei V - 022/172 - UR - $4.47

Similar to: Suicune V (Evolving Skies)

Yes, we do get two reprints of Suicune from Evolving Skies in Entei and Raikou but Entei V gets the jump for me here. Firstly it has 230 HP, 20 more than the others. Sure at the cost of a higher retreat cost but that shouldn't be much of an issue. With cape/charm, Entei V could become an annoying adversary to take down. 

The thing that really helps it is the new Magma Basin stadium as you can easily get an Entei V attacking right from the off whereas Suicune would need Melony and Raikou needs Flaaffy. Sure they're all the same but a stadium that gives the free attachment feels a bit better. It could be a strong new contender in the meta and with so many Fire support in this set with Basin, Moltres and the next card on this list, Kindler.

#13 - Kindler - 143/172 - UC - $0.97

Similar to: Misty's Determination (XY Breakpoint)

Even though I've got Misty's Determination on here as the card similar to Kindler, you can in some ways also add Bill's Analysis from Team Up to that list. Here, like Misty, you'd need to discard a card (in this case a Fire energy) and like Misty, take any card you want, but here, you take 2 out of the top 7 (similar to Bill's Analysis) and not 1 out of the top 8.

And because it's any card, that is quite the powerful effect itself. Bill saw some play just for being able to get Item from a similar situation so imagine what Kindler can do when it's any card. It could help decks like Entei to get two more Pokémon to help do more damage, or even find combos like Rare Candy and an out to Ludicolo in a way similar to Suicune V in the past. 

It could also help Leon's Charizard find the piece to get whatever it needs to either get a Charizard up or find the last few pieces to hit for high amounts of damage, be it Leon, Choice Belt or Basin to attach energy. Although I don't think it will see play in many Fire decks at the start, I'm curious to see how this card will be utilised in the coming months.

#12 - Gloria - 141/172 - UC - $0.19

Similar to: Brigette (XY Breakthrough)

Brigette is back! And with Lumineon V in this set, you can easily set up a board similar to the days when Brigette and Tapu Lele-GX were a staple in many decks, mostly Zoroark-GX decks. The catch is it can only be basic without a Rule Box, which is what Brigette was anyways!

We've seen two Prof supporter cards similar to this try but fail miserably because they were either restricted to 60 HP mons or 3 different typing. Gloria only has the restriction to Rule Box mons which makes it great! One prizer decks and decks needing to set up now have a way to quickly get things up and running. Be it Malamar, Charizard, Dark Box Inteleon or, as much as it pains me to say it, control decks and Durant Mill stuff. Oh god they're back.

#11 - Roseanne's Backup - 148/172 - UC - $0.33

Similar to: ???

So as you can tell, Roseanne's Backup is one of the few cards on this list that isn't similar to anything I can remember from the past because it's quite different. 

You could say it's a combination of Special Charge, Lana's Fishing Rod and Super Rod in some ways as you get to do all of that plus a stadium! 4 cards back into the deck can only be a good thing. Sure, those cards I mentioned were all Items cards which makes this effect a bit weaker since it takes your 1 turn supporter rule but it's still a powerful effect.

With this, you can always get one of your main attackers back into the deck, get that game winning Band or Sight back into the deck or get back that game winning tech Tool or Stadium back in, help yourself to win the stadium war with another Stadium and the biggest being saving an Energy. Special included. Stuff like Capture and Rapid Strike can now be saved and I can see this being a one off in some Inteleon or even Rapid Strike decks for that ability alone. In fact this sounds like the perfect card for a deck like Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX in some ways. 

#10 - Bibarel - 121/172 - HR - $2.12

Similar to: Octillery (XY Breakthrough)

It is the return of our ol' favourite Sushi Master but instead of Octillery, now it's Bibarel. God's older brother will easily see play for the ability alone as many decks back in the XY era used Octillery as their draw engines and it wasn't always just one, it could be two or even three per turn if you had 3 of them in the bench.

The attack is useless and will never be used but being able to draw up to 5 cards is very powerful because of stuff that can happen in the late game. Your opponent could Marnie you into a bad hand but if you're able to thin it out, you might just save yourself with Industrious Incisors. Feeling stuck after having played down everything in your hand, II it back up to 5! 

We've seen many games where players will do whatever they need are down to 1-2 cards in their hands and most of the time it's nothing helpful. This is where Bibarel will save the day for those decks. It's too good to ignore plus a Pokémon ability as a draw engine will always see play. Octillery did. Silvally-GX did. Genesect V is right now. And Bibarel is the next. 

#9 - Manaphy - 041/172 - R - $1.98

Similar to: Mr Mime (XY Breakthrough)

Bench Barrier is back! For those of you playing Jolteon VMAX and Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX, you now have an issue to fix. Mew in the past had been a real headache for Rapid Strike and now Manaphy arrives to give it even more headaches especially with it's 70 HP, similar to Mr Mime back in the day. 

This card alone will see some decks go into hiding for a while (they will eventually make a return which will no doubt bring Manaphy back into the fold again) and give one-prizer decks, set-up decks or control/mill decks now a chance to stand up to spread decks. Mr Mime and Mew saw load of plays in all kinds of decks and for that reason, you know Manaphy will see play in any sort of deck you can think of. 

Even the spread decks themselves might use them to win the mirror. The 70 HP is quite relevant and it escape 3 snipes from Inteleon and can be brought back by stuff like Rescue Carrier. And with 70 HP, it's even better than Mew. Just the attack is worse but who cares if Manaphy is doing it's job and protecting your bench right?

#8 - Lumineon V - 040/172 - UR - $16.02

Similar to: Jirachi-EX (B&W Plasma Blast)

We've seen this ability before. It's always seen play be it with Jirachi-EX or Tapu Lele-GX. But it's not as high on my list as I would if it was similar to Tapu Lele-GX because you're really only playing this for it's great ability, amazing even. The attack? Forget about it. Even though it's a good way to get it back into the deck, 3 energies is awkward in it of itself (unless your deck has DTE). 

But this is still going to be a game winning card. How many times have we seen someone reach out to get that late Tapu Lele-GX for a Boss or whatever supporter they need to win the game. This will do the same thing. It's a game winner, end of story. Great late game card, and for some decks, also a great early game card to get stuff like Gloria down. Just hope it's not the only Pokémon card in your starting hand. We all know that feeling.

#7 - Charizard VStar - 018/172 - UR - $75.59

Similar to: Umbreon V / Reshiram & Charizard-GX

Yes, it's another Charizard card so you money hungry suckers are already foaming up but hear me out. This is also a playable card. And I like playable Charizard cards as the last two playable Charizard cards have been two of my most successful decks ever (ReshiZard-

GX and Team Up Charizard).

So of course the moment I saw this, I knew I had to try it out. It has Umbreon V's Moonlight Blade in Explosive Fire...but better! 130 becomes 230 if it has a damage counter and in case you need a reminder, we now have Magma Basin which means Charizard Vstar can start swinging for 230 by Turn 2, taking down most Vs already. In that sense, it reminds me a lot of ReshiZard since it also did 230. And like ReshiZard, Charizard Vstar can also hit 260 to it's multi-prizer counter parts with the help of the new Choice Belt! And with stuff like Zigzagoon and Inteleon, that number just keeps going up to the point you're close to KOing a VMAX.

And that's where it's VStar Power comes in. Star Blaze for 4 energy hits for 320. Not 300 like usual, but 320. This is taking out almost every 3 prizer in the game. And for those with 330 or 340 HP, fret not as you have Choice Belt and Inteleon/Zigzagoon to reach those numbers. For those reasons, I can see Charizard Vstar actually being a good deck by itself. It one isn't just for the collectors but for players like me too whose favourite is Charmander so you know I need this. The biggest issue for this is well....it's a Charizard so people like me won't really be able to play it because it'll be stupidly expensive. You can thank the collectors for that issue.

#6 - Cynthia's Ambition - 138/172 - UC - $0.26

Similar to: Lucky Egg/Lillie/Bruno

Cynthia sure does seem to always get good Supporter cards, doesn't she? Add this one to this list. In a way it's similar to Lille where an addition effect gets your hand up to 8 cards and in some ways Lucky Egg as you're wanting your opponent to have KOed one of your Pokémon for you to draw more cards. 

In that sense, it's also similar to Bruno since it draws 8 but it shuffles the hand where in the case of CA, you keep whatever you had and draw up to 8, the option for either should help single prize decks even more as they've been relying solely on Bruno for a while. Decks that relying on having a combination of cards to hit what they need might also rely on this to get them there.

#5 - Magma Basin - 144/172 - UC - $0.70

Similar to: Nothing, one effect similar to Frozen City (B&W Plasma Freeze)

Now this is one of the cards in this set that feels very new to me because I've never seen anything quite like it. The closest thing I can think of was Frozen City where energies attached meant putting 2 damage counter onto the Pokémon.

Magma Basin is a little different as it directly attaches the energy itself for that 2 damage counter to happen and it does it from the discard pile as well which is always a good thing, especially since it's already giving you a second energy attachment per turn. The downside being it has to be on the bench but that can be easily worked around. 

But I can see this stadium being a 4-off in the possible resurgences of Fire decks. The new Moltres from this set actually works well with this since it needs to have damage counters to do 90 damage and not 20 damage, which you can get from this stadium so while you're waiting to power up one of your main attackers, Moltres can help soften them up. Charizard Vstar as mentioned earlier goes well with this since it needs damage counters to hit 230. Entei really does become a Suicune reprint with the help of this since it goes down to 210 HP. Victini VMAX and Centiskorch VMAX now have ways to finally attack right off the get-go again since Welder left. As a fan of Fire types, I will for sure be testing this out.

#4 - Arceus VStar - 123/172 - UR - $72.48

Similar to: Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX (Cosmic Eclipse)

The cover star of the set and of course Arcues Vstar just had to be good. A colourless attacker that helps to power up other big attackers? This is the kind of card that will find a spot in any and every deck. In fact, you might just see a field full of Arcues Vstars but they're all not the same deck because they've got their own different typing of attackers. 

Trinity Nova is pretty much Ultimate Ray from ADP-GX, hitting for 180 to attach 3 energies. And I say 180 because you'll most likely be using DTE to help fix the triple energy attachment but it can hit for 210 with the help of Choice Belt so in a way, again it's similar to ADP-GX. The difference is the 3 basic energies only goes to V Pokemons. Still a good effect I'd say.

But the thing that really makes it good is it's VStar Power, Starbirth. Because of it, you are almost guaranteed to hit Trinity Nova by turn 2 because of the ability to search any 2 cards. Most of the time, DTE will be one of them and the other could either be the attacker you want to power up, a Choice Belt to fix some maths, a Boss' Orders to take out one of your opponent's V Pokemon (210 HP guys aren't safe if you've got a Belt too) or whatever else you need to help you win more. Even a Path to the Peak helps since you won't be using your ability again for the rest of the turn. This will see a lot of play in the next 2 years. Will it challenge Mew as the best deck in format? Unlikely but it could be the most popular. 

#3 - Double Turbo Energy - 151/172 - UC - $1.20

Similar to: Double Colourless Energy

DCE is back!!! Rejoice everyone. Just change the C to T and the only downside of this card is that you do 20 less damage so now, even more maths will be involved in the game. 

But in saying that, even with the -20 effect, this is still very good and many decks will be using it. The 20 itself can easily be fixed by an Inteleon ping for starters. Cards like Choice Belt, Leon or Power Tablet helps negate it so you'd do 10 more damage at the very least. 

For the longest time we're not have a double colourless attack and while double energy has seen a lot of success with Rapid Strike Urshifu, it's really only limited to them. Decks like Arcues VStar, Mew VMAX, Mad Party are all itching to use this. The latter now has a much easier time to attack and not just rely on 4 Twin Energy. DCE always saw play and DTE will too.

#2 - Choice Belt - 135/172 - UC - $1.06

Similar to: Choice Band (SM Guardians Rising)

Choice Band is back but instead of wearing it on our heads, now we can live our our inner WWE/AEW superstars with our own Choice Belt around our waists. We've seen how good Choice Band was back in the Sun and Moon era, +30 to GXes and EXes changed the game a lot. And before that, Muscle Band saw play because it did +20 to ANY active. 

The ability to do +30 to any V (be it normal V, VMAX or VSTAR) will speed up some games. VMAX decks will be using it to knock out other big attackers but also stuff like Arceus Vstar (it'll need the buff to lessen the pain from TDE with it's -20 effect), and even decks like Suicune V can now taken clean one shots of most VMaxes with it's Inteleon/Ludicolo combos. Single prize decks will also be having a field day with this to take down the big boys. 

Grab all them belts because we'll be using it but be warned, this will likely cause a rise in play of both Tool Jammer and Tool Scrapper so a one-off Belt won't be the way, you'll need more to get around that. And let's be honest, you don't really want just one of these in a deck, we'll likely see two, maybe even three in some decks.

#1 - Ultra Ball - 150/172 - UC - $0.49

Similar to: It's a Reprint!

Is there really anything I need to say on why it's the best car out of this set? It's Ultra Ball for f-sakes. The best search card is back in the game. Ultra Ball always saw play in every possible deck known to man in Pokemon TCG. It will see play in almost every deck in this meta too.

Need to find a specific evolution? Problem solved! Need to find that game winning Lumineon V or Eldegoss V? Problem solved! Need a way to discard a few cards in your hand to use Bibarel or Genesect V? Problem solved! Need a way to make your lunch even better? Problem still unsolved but go play Pokemon TCG while you're at it and you'll most likely be using Ultra Ball to search out something. 

This is easily in my view the best card of this set. And the ironic part? This is also the card most of us already have and ready to put 4 of them (or less) back into our decks. Sadly, this is also the card that will not just keep Mew VMAX at the top but in fact, make it even better than before so be prepared to see even more of Mew VMAX for the next 3 months.

These cards will make building decks a little different now with more search outs, more ways to hit more damage, an easier way to attack for more than 1 energy, drawing more cards and one-off techs to find cards or protect the bench. Hopefully the game will get better thanks to these cards. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day ahead.