Well it's the new year which means the new 2024 Rotation will be coming soon. Japan has their rotation set in January but the rest of us will have to wait until April when the first set of the year is released. So while we still have 3 or so months of this format, why not look towards the future to see which decks will be heavily affected by the new rotation and which decks won't be affected.
Sets that will be rotating (E sets) are: Battle Styles (BST), Chilling Reign (CRE), Evolving Skies (EVS), Celebrations (CEL) and Fusion Strike (FST).
Prices on the list are as of January 2nd 2024. Currency is USD.
There are some top decks that I won't cover for the obvious reasons:
- Both Mew VMAX variants since Mew VMAX is finally rotating
- Inteleon VMAX and Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX are both rotating
- Zoroark from Evolving Skies is sadly rotating as well, making it's Phantom Transformation deck...well...disappear for good
- The Single Strike version of Lugia VSTAR will cease to exist
- Houndoom rotating means rogue decks like Gengar VMAX are also gone
- Shadow Rider Calyrex is rotating, sorry Horse Girl Hannah!
- Arceus VSTAR decks will take a hit with Duraludon VMAX, Umbreon VMAX and Flying Pikachu VMAX all rotating
- Kyogre rotating means the Lost Box Kyogre variant is gone for good!
#20 - Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR
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| Juststeelix - 2nd - Redacted Paradox #2 |
Cards Rotating: (3)
x1 Escape Rope (BST)
x1 Justified Gloves (CRE)
x1 Cleansing Gloves (BST)
Deck Price: $24.86
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 5%
The first deck on this list somehow has the best stats of any decks of the two things I'm working on here! The deck is the cheapest deck on the list and the second least affected deck by rotation. And if we get rid of the Gloves, it really only loses Escape Rope! The deck is still not one you'd usually see people playing but could be a fun project for some to try.
#19 Garchomp ex
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| Benjamin Merrit - 4th - AustraliaTCG OCIS Round 12 |
Cards Rotating: (11)
x2 Mew (CEL)
x1 Sobble (CRE)
x1 Inteleon (CRE)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x1 Escape Rope (BST)
x2 Path to the Peak (CRE)
Deck Price: $45.58
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 18.33%
Garchomp is surely too good to stop being overlooked eventually. It's got two great attacks and one of it's recent new partners seems to be Slither Wing. It will lose some stuff to rotation, namely Path to the Peak and Battle VIP Pass (not the first time you'll hear this btw). There are a few new attackers coming in the first set of the year that uses Fighting Energy so Garchomp ex might find a new partner soon.
#18 Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Zone)
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| Robin Waters - 8th - Late Night 157 |
Cards Rotating: (8)
x1 Raihan (EVS)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x3 Escape Rope (BST)
Deck Price: $38.94
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%
Hisuian Goodra can still be a threat in the meta. It was that way at the start of 2023, it was looking that way near the end of 2023 but hasn't shown up much since the release of Paradox Rift. It's one of the cheapest decks to build on the list, but the deck will have to deal with the loss of VIP Pass and Escape Rope come April and there aren't many like-for-like replacements.
Rope can be switched for the new Primer Catcher A-Spec but there can only be 1 of it so 2 more spot for a switch/gust will be needed, be it Switch, Iron Bundle or whatever new is coming next.
#17 Tsareena ex
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| AbeLincoln - 7th - Cinnabar Island Tournament #15 |
Cards Rotating: (5)
*Rufflet can be easily swapped for a non-rotating Rufflet from SIT
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x1 Escape Rope (BST)
Deck Price: $39.23
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 8.33%
Another fun rogue deck for this list. It's cheap, it doesn't really lose much in rotation, the cards it loses are pretty much the same stuff every other deck on this are likely to lose anyway. This deck does have a lot of moving pieces so it can be quite hard to pull it's strategy off, but when you do, you can stop your opponent from ever attacking you.
#16 Gholdengo ex
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Haruki Miwa - 1st - Kyoto Champions League
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Cards Rotating: (10)
1-1 Milotic (EVS) + Feebas
4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
4 Cross Switcher (FST)
Deck Price: $45.31
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 16.67%
Gholdengo ex finally got it's first big result in the last major event of the year in Kyoto. Another fun budget deck that losses Battle VIP Pass and Cross Switcher. The 1-1 Milotic can easily be replaced for anything else, be it a 1-1 Scizor line or add another line of Palkias to the deck.
I do think the deck has some potential, I have played it a lot lately and I can't wait to see if it will be able to strive in 2024. Make it Rain is too good of an attack to be ignored and if the meta does shift to more big basic decks going around, that's just more good news for our funny gold man to hit funny big numbers.
#15 Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR
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| Douglas Maiola - 25th - Sao Paulo Internationals |
Cards Rotating: (6)
x1 Avery (CRE)
x1 Raihan (EVS)
x1 Escape Rope (BST)
x3 Path to the Peak (CRE)
Deck Price: $62.04
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%
You know how much I love this deck. But I do think it's days are numbered because of Path to the Peak being rotated soon. The Path + Judge plan will cease to exist come April. So even if the deck only loses 10% of it's current list, losing Path might be a bit too much. Sure there are stuff like Pokemon League HQ, Lost City, Gapejaw Bog or Calamitous Wasteland to go with the disruption aspect but they don't serve the same purpose as Path.
#14 Klawf/Hisuian Electrode VMAX
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| Jack Underwood - 17th - Brisbane Regional |
Cards Rotating: (6)
x4 Spicy Seasoned Curry (ASR) - It was released as a promo card during the E block in Japan
x2 Escape Rope (BST)
Deck Price: $49.65
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%
This one will not be good news to Klawf believers but even though Curry was released in the F block everywhere else, it was released in the E block as a promo card in Japan so Curry will be rotated soon, making it having one of the shortest life span for a non-Japanese card.
Apart from that, the deck doesn't lose much, just Escape Rope. And it does have the upcoming Walking Wake ex coming soon that goes with this deck's gimmick.
#13 Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR
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| Joseph Nawal - 3rd - San Antonio Regional |
Cards Rotating: (19)
x2 Ice Rider Calyrex V (CRE)
x1 Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX (CRE)
x1 Suicune V (EVS)
x1 Mew (CEL)
x4 Melony (CRE)
x4 Cross Switcher (FST)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x2 Escape Rope (BST)
Deck Price: $48.90
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 31.67%
Going into 2023, Palkia was partnered with the Shady Dealing Inteleon engine and it survived that. Palkia suffers the most of any deck on this list from rotation, is it one too many rotations for it to survive? Ice Rider is gone, Mew is gone, Cross Switcher is gone, VIP is gone, Rope is gone.
Even with all of that, I still think there is a way for Palkia to be relevant, whether on it's own or as a tech attacker in another deck. The biggest loss for this build however is Melony. It's hard enough to get two Water energies consistently on multiple Palkias, imagine not having the option to use Melony for it. The deck has survived one rotation but with Melony gone and Raihan also gone, it might be a one lost too much for Palkia to going into the next rotation.
#12 Roaring Moon ex
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| Luigi Vezzoni - 9th - Stuttgart Regional |
Cards Rotating: (5)
x1 Galarian Moltres V (CRE)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
Deck Price: $74.92
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 8.33%
The numbers don't lie here. It's just VIP Pass and Moltres that is rotating. Every deck does lose VIP Pass so that's a problem everyone else have to deal with.
Losing Moltres V does mean the deck lose one way to power up Roaring Moon ex and now it just has Sada and Dark Patch as it's main energy acceleration going forward, which could still be enough. Plus there will be more tools to help with the Ancient gimmick so this deck will likely get better eventually.
#11 Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur
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| Jared Grimes - 89th - San Antonio Regional |
Cards Rotating: (4)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
Deck Price: $57.55
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 6.67%
Like Roaring Moon ex before, Chien-Pao/Bax is one of the decks that loses the least from rotation. It's just Battle VIP Pass that is gone. It has been struggling in this format so could rotation give the deck an added boost?
My biggest worry for the deck is that losing VIP Pass means it might have a harder time to set up Frigibax and Bidoof and the deck is already struggling to do that at times right now! Imagine not having that option. That has been my biggest gripe with CP Bax and with TM Devo now a thing, that makes things even more scarier.
#10 Entei V/Iron Valiant ex
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| Noah Sawyer - 2nd - Sao Paulo Internationals |
Cards Rotating: (9)
x1 Medicham V (EVS)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x4 Escape Rope (BST)
Deck Price: $85.46
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 15%
One of the newer decks in the meta and because of that, it's no surprise that it's one of the most expensive decks. It would be the most expensive if not for the two Charizard ex decks on this list. But there are two big losses in rotation for the deck. Losing Escape Rope means it can't take advantage of Iron Valiant's Techyon Bits as much as it used to.
Losing Medicham V might be the bigger loss though as it a huge part for the deck's strategy right now. You want to spread damage around with Iron Valiant to the point where Medicham can pick something off and give you an extra turn, who doesn't like that?
#9 Snorlax Control
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| Łukasz Mazurkiewicz - 1st - Gdańsk Regional |
Cards Rotating: (6)
x1 Crabominable V (FST)
x1 Avery (CRE)
x1 Sidney (FST)
x1 Peonia (CRE)
x1 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x1 Echoing Horn (BST)
Deck Price: $34.82
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 10%
Yup Control will still be around for 2024 so be prepared. It will lose the ability to mill with Crabominable (that could be chaged to Che-Yu ex), and loses some key supporters but in all honesty, it won't actually lose any of it's important stuff which is a scary sign for the whole meta.
The two main losses I suppose are Peonia and Echoing Horn. The deck suffer from bad prizing and since you don't take prizes, not having the option to take cards from prizes from a effect such as Peonia could be dangerous. Losing Echoing Horn just means the rest of us can easily discard Pokemon now without worrying about them being dragged onto the bench later on.
#8 Lugia VSTAR/Archeops
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| Alec Geissler - 22nd - San Antonio Regional |
Cards Rotating: (2)
x1 Dunsparce (FST)
x1 Professor Burnet (Promo - Released under E block)
Deck Price: $59.57
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 3.33%
Yes, this is the deck that loses the least from rotation. Just Dunsparce and Burnet. Burnet however is a big one, it was the easiest way to discard. In all fairness, the first few Lugia lists didn't include it and still did well, so maybe it's not needed after all.
Lugia hasn't seen much play lately with the increase in play of Miraidon. Losing Dunsparce does mean it's going to get even worse against the lighting crew. If you can avoid those and any decks featuring a Raikou V or an Iron Hands ex, the deck should still be able to thrive.
#7 Lost Zone Box (Turbo)
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| David Jon Del Rosario - 2nd - Philippines Regional League |
Cards Rotating: (10)
x1 Dragonite V (Promo - Released under E block)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x4 Escape Rope (BST)
x1 Echoing Horn (BST)
Deck Price: $70.80
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 16.67%
I could have picked the new wave of "Turbo" Lost box that used Roaring Moon ex and Iron Hands ex but I wanted to showcase the good ol' actual Turbo Lost Box for this one. For those wondering, Tord's list that got 5th loses pretty much the same stuff, VIP & Rope along with Kyogre and Energy Recycler.
This one however does lose one major part that helps with it's Turbo strategy, that being Dragonite V itself. Lost Box decks does have the tendency to adapt to new changes so I do expect a new version of Turbo Lost Box to show up eventually, perhaps the rest will switch to the new wave of Turbo Lost box I mentioned earlier. And in fairness, that has been the way to play the deck recently. Maybe it's not a big loss after all.
#6 Lost Zone Box (Radiant Charizard)
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| Christian Fontenot - 1st - Stuttgart Regional |
Cards Rotating: (14)
x2 Raihan (EVS)
x2 Klara (CRE)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x4 Escape Rope (BST)
x2 Fog Crystal (CRE)
Deck Price: $36.05
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 23.33%
It's a different story for SableZard. It's cheaper yes but it loses more stuff. Raihan? Gone. Klara? Gone. Fog Crystal? Gone. For me, losing Raihan and Klara is quite a painful one for the deck to deal with, but an answer could be to use more Super Rods and Mirage Gates to solve the issue the deck loses from losing those two supporters. In fact, I can see a world where Tulip just outright replaces Klara to fix that role, but you only do get back Sableye, Comfey and Psychic Energy, which might just be what you want anyway.
The deck should still be fine to be fair, you have answers for evolving decks with the likes of Cramorant and Sableye picking stuff off and they can help set up numbers for Radiant Charizard to take down the bigger ex-s or Vs. Sure it doesn't look good with many important stuff rotating but I think the deck will still be alright. Lost Box decks can easily adapt so I expect it to do so.
#5 Miraidon ex
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| Juho Kallama - 1st - Sao Paulo Internationals |
Cards Rotating: (8)
x2 Mareep (EVS)
x2 Flaaffy (EVS)
x2 Escape Rope (BST)
x2 Path to the Peak (CRE)
Deck Price: $75.14
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%
Miraidon seems to be the preferred engine for people wanting to make full use of Iron Hands ex which means it's one of the more expensive decks on this list. The deck will have to deal with the loss of Flaaffy to rotation.
While it still does have Electric Generator, Flaaffy has always been the consistent energy accelerator for the likes of Iron Hands ex, Miraidon ex, Raikou V, Raichu V and Mew ex. The version with Path will cease to exist so the deck will likely go back to using Beach Court.
#4 Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone)
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| Alberto Conti - 3rd - Stuttgart Regional |
Cards Rotating: (8)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x4 Path to the Peak (CRE)
Deck Price: $70.78
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%
And one of the more costlier deck on this list and the deck only loses two cards two rotation. Battle VIP Pass and Path. Path is the bigger hit as it's the main part of it's strategy. You want to put your opponent down to as little cards as possible with either Roxanne or Iono and then hit Path to make it difficult for them to get out of it.
And as of right now, there is no clear replacement for Path. Is this deck still good without Path? Time will tell. There are other Stadiums that can play a disruption role, be it League HQ or Temple of Sinnoh or Calamitous Wasteland but they don't quite off the same thing as Path as I mentioned for the other Giratina deck on this list.
#3 Gardevoir ex
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| Bryan de Vries - 15th - Stuttgart Regional |
Cards Rotating: (15)
x1 Kirlia (CRE)
x2 Gardevoir (CRE)
x1 Mew (CEL)
x2 Avery (CRE)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x3 Level Ball (BST)
x2 Fog Crystal (CRE)
Deck Price: $42.36
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 25%
One of the more cheaper options for decks that is considered a top tier deck. There is one huge problem for Gardevoir ex if you saw the number before this paragraph and it's that this deck loses A LOT from rotation, the 2nd most affected on this list after Palkia. The biggest loss is Shining Arcana Gardevoir, the deck's main attacker and part of the draw engine too. Sure there are other Gardevoirs or even Buddy Catch Gallade but they can't hit for big numbers like Arcana Gardevoir does.
If that wasn't enough, Mirage Step Kirlia being rotated means the deck will have to go back to the old strategy of getting out as many Ralts in Turn 1 as possible and evolve all of them into Kirlias Turn 2. Losing Level Ball AND Fog Crystal mean the deck loses a lot of its search options as well, and all that without mentioning VIP Pass. Mew rotating is also another issue but with VIP gone, perhaps it's not that big and the deck could instead choose to have a disruptor in the active now. Perhaps Klefki or even the upcoming Flutter Mane?
#2 Charizard ex/Bibarel
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| Thomas Jones - 6th - Gdańsk Regional |
Cards Rotating: (5)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x1 Escape Rope (BST)
Deck Price: $86.99
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 8.33%
Charizard ex decks are the most expensive decks in this list. It's the Charizard effect I suppose. The Bibarel version does lose lesser card to rotation than it's Pidgeot counterpart. It's loses just VIP Pass and Rope, and pretty much every deck on this list but a handful lose will lose either VIP Pass or Rope.
I'd like to think the deck could be a viable choice going into the new rotation with how little it loses and Charizard ex is still one of the best attacker in the game and if more decks are playing TM Devolution, why not this version? The main selling point for this deck was that deals with Path deck better than Pidgeot but with that gone, what does it have over Pidgeot other than having a better time dealing with TM Devo?
#1 Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
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| Azul Garcia Griego - 1st - San Antonio Regional |
Cards Rotating: (8)
x1 Mew (CEL)
x4 Battle VIP Pass (FST)
x2 Level Ball (BST)
x1 Justified Gloves (CRE)
Deck Price: $93.89
Cards affected by rotation in deck: 13.33%
The deck that won the last major TPCi event, some say the best deck in the game going into 2024. And it is the most expensive deck on this list, does back up it's claim as the best I suppose. The deck actually doesn't lose much from rotation either. Justified Gloves can be swapped for another tool, likely to be Defiance Band, Level Ball will likely be switched to Nest Ball which leaves us with Battle VIP Pass and Mew.
There are still some search option cards to soften the blow of losing VIP Pass. Mew however, there is nothing that can be an exact replacement for it. Still, I expect Zard/Pidgeot to be one of the best deck, pre-rotation and post-rotation. It has to surely, for the sake of Charmander please!
Now for a re-cap of the decks that cost the least to most and the decks that are the least affected by rotation:
Least expensive decks- Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR - $24.86
- Snorlax Control - $34.82
- Lost Zone Box (Radiant Charizard) - $36.05
- Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Zone) - $38.94
- Tsareena ex - $39.23
- Gardevoir ex - $42.36
- Gholdengo ex - $45.31
- Garchomp ex - $45.58
- Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR - $48.90
- Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V - $49.65
- Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur - $57.55
- Lugia VSTAR/Archeops - $59.57
- Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR - $62.04
- Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone) - $70.78
- Turbo Lost Zone Box - $70.80
- Roaring Moon ex - $74.92
- Miraidon ex - $75.14
- Entei V/Iron Valiant ex - $85.46
- Charizard ex/Bibarel - $86.99
- Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex - $93.89
Yup Charizard ex decks being the most expensive doesn't surprise me, neither do decks that have attackers from Paradox Rift, aka the three decks after Charizard ex. A good cheap alternate for anyone wanting to pick up a deck right now would probably be Gardevoir, Sable Zard or Gholdengo ex.
The first two are something I'd recommend just for the time being as you will see later. If you have the money, Charizard ex has to be the best choice. Want a deck very safe from rotation, Lugia isn't the most expensive deck around, which is not the same story last year.
Decks least affected by rotation
- Lugia VSTAR/Archeops - 3.33%
- Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR - 5%
- Chien-Pao ex/Baxcalibur - 6.67%
- Charizard ex/Bibarel - 8.33%
- Roaring Moon ex - 8.33%
- Tsareena ex - 8.33%
- Snorlax Control - 10%
- Klawf/Hisuian Electrode V - 10%
- Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR - 10%
- Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex - 13.33%
- Giratina VSTAR (Lost Zone) - 13.33%
- Miraidon ex - 13.33%
- Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Zone) - 13.33%
- Entei V/Iron Valiant ex - 15%
- Turbo Lost Zone Box - 16.67%
- Gholdengo ex - 16.67%
- Garchomp ex - 18.33%
- Lost Zone Box (Radiant Charizard) - 23.33%
- Gardevoir ex - 25%
- Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR - 31.67%
Well I did say almost every deck will have to deal with losing Battle VIP Pass but the first two decks don't, that being Lugia and Zoroark. Of the top decks, Charizard ex, Roaring Moon ex and Control decks seem to fair better than most for the upcoming rotation. You could even include Klawf but the one loss of Curry might be a bit too big. Same for ArcTina losing Path.
On the flip side, Palkia, Gardevoir and SableZard will lose out more in the upcoming rotation. Of the 3, I think SableZard has plenty of alternatives to fix the missing pieces. The other two on the other hand, don't have that luxury. Palkia loses Ice Rider, it's main answer for Miraidon, a deck it has weakness to. Gardevoir loses it's main attacker, one of it's best ways to setup the perfect board state, and two of it's search optios. They won't dissaper once rotation hits, Gardevoir ex and Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR are two of the best cards in the format right now, they will find a way to survive. They just need to have a new look for the new year.
Thanks for reading!
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