Pokémon TCG players around the world are traveling to London, United Kingdom, for the 2023 Europe International Championships. It’s the third International Championships of the year and the first premier event to feature the new Scarlet & Violet set and the brand-new Standard rotation. The dominant decks from the previous Standard format continue to rank highly as EUIC approaches, but Trainers will still have to look out for powerful cards from Scarlet & Violet if they want to become an International Champion.

Our Power Rankings panel of experts believes in the power of the heavy hitters from the previous Standard format, but it remains to be seen which decks will perform best in London this weekend. Speculate along with them and catch a full weekend of action on Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG from April 14–16.

Despite winning the recent Oceania International Championships, the Lost Zone Box deck has been overshadowed by Lugia VSTAR for most of the previous format. With the Standard rotation, this is about to change! While most decks are losing multiple key cards, the Lost Zone theme around Comfey, Cramorant, and Sableye is still close to full power, making it an obvious favorite going into EUIC.

One of the deck’s main strengths is its flexibility. Thanks to Mirage Gate, there’s a very long list of attacking Pokémon that the deck can utilize. Some popular options include using Raikou V, Galarian Zapdos V and Drapion V to cover different weaknesses, or Dragonite V for its unconditional high damage output. Most of the time, these Basic Pokémon V will be combined with Sky Seal Stone, which makes the deck’s Prize trade very hard to keep up with.

An alternative approach is to rely on Radiant Charizard for big damage, and focus the deck exclusively around single-Prize Pokémon. That version has fewer moving pieces and executes its gameplan very consistently, but not having access to Radiant Greninja and its Moonlight Shuriken attack could be a problem against other Lost Zone decks.

Is there a strategy that can handle all these different options and stop this deck from claiming another International title? It might depend on whether players find a good way to utilize the new Klefki and its Mischievous Lock Ability. If there’s anything a Lost Zone player does not want to see, it’s cards that block their Abilities! — Robin Schulz

Standard rotation always creates an interesting dynamic for the decks that are left behind. As is the case this year, a lot of the top decks often remain around in some form but are “worse” due to the loss of key cards. At the same time, decks that were lagging the rest of the format can catch up—and even rise to the top—simply by losing fewer key pieces.

That’s what our panel is envisioning for Giratina VSTAR: A key contender since its launch in the Sword & Shield—Lost Origin expansion last fall, it’s essentially fallen off the map since LAIC. What’s going to facilitate its revival? Largely, it’s about the rest of the format slowing down and hitting less hard. For example, Lugia VSTAR is no longer capable of summoning any attacker in the game out of thin air, but instead, it’s more limited to attacking with Lugia VSTAR itself and other Colorless attackers.

Giratina VSTAR does lose some important pieces. Scoop Up Net is the big loss—the same Comfey can no longer be reset and played multiple times in the same turn. While Beach Court out of Scarlet & Violet will help replace some of the overall mobility, it does limit the potential of high-impact turns. Giratina VSTAR is unique among Lost Zone decks in its capacity to replace that, though, with Abyss Seeking on Giratina V providing a great way out of weak hands while also accelerating a player’s Lost Zone progress.

In short, being able to hit 280 damage relatively easily, having a VSTAR Power that can deal with pretty much anything, and retaining the Cramorant/Sableye Lost Zone suite means that more good things are in store for Giratina VSTAR. — Christopher Schemanske

Mew VMAX does not have any secret tricks. The primary attacker gives up three Prize cards when it is Knocked Out. The archetype has not even made it to the final of an International Championships. And yet, since it was first printed, Mew VMAX has been featured in every edition of the Power Rankings. The strengths of this deck make it easy to see why.

This deck features a powerful attacker, damage modifiers, hand disruption, and a variety of instantly useful Trainer cards, all tied together by an Ability-based draw engine that fires every turn from the first turn of the game. It is ruthless and relentless in the execution of its strategy; opponents must play flawlessly if they want any chance at a victory. The deck has even gained a new card in Arven from the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet expansion, which will boost consistency by enabling easy access to Forest Seal Stone and whichever Item card is required in the given situation.

It will be interesting to observe whether competitors at the 2023 Europe International Championships use Meloetta in their Mew VMAX decks. With the rising popularity of Sky Seal Stone in Lost Box decks, and its anticipated inclusion in Gardevoir ex builds, Meloetta may be the best way for Mew VMAX to keep up with the Prize trade. — Ellis Longhurst

Lugia VSTAR was the most powerful deck prior to the Standard rotation, and it was expected to remain relevant post-rotation, even after losing powerful tools such as Powerful Colorless Energy, Aurora Energy, and Yveltal.

With Scarlet & Violet, the Lugia VSTAR deck is not only losing its strongest attacking options, but also important consistency cards, such as Evolution Incense and Quick Ball. Getting Archeops in the discard pile is now more challenging. The loss of these cards will without a doubt leave a noticeable dent in the deck’s power. Archeops’s Primal Turbo Ability is still arguably the strongest Ability of all time, and it can fuel otherwise difficult-to-use attackers.

The Single Strike archetype has so far been overshadowed by its Rapid Strike counterpart, but it looks like that is about to change—even if it's without the originally most anticipated Single Strike cards like Urshifu VMAX, Gengar VMAX, or Houndoom. Tyranitar V provides the deck with a powerful attacker that, with the help of Single Strike Energy, can easily Knock Out any Pokémon VSTAR and most Pokémon VMAX in the format. Its Darkness typing also helps a great deal against Gardevoir ex and Mew VMAX and could surely make the deck as one of the top contenders going into the Europe International Championships. I have a feeling that we could see some Lugia VSTAR decks make a deep run. — Tord Reklev

Scarlet & Violet marks a first in our power ranking series: an actual Stage 2 deck in our top five! For far too long, slow setup decks were unviable in metagames dominated by powerful TAG TEAM Pokémon or Pokémon VMAX. Finally, it looks like one is good enough to make the cut: Gardevoir ex.

Gardevoir, Gallade, and their pre-evolved forms have received a lot of recent attention from the game’s designers: one Kirlia has the Refinement Ability that turns it into a draw engine, and a different Kirlia is another strong option for the early game thanks to its Mirage Step attack. Gallade from Sword & Shield—Astral Radiance gives the player access to the Supporter of their choice every turn, and a Gardevoir from Sword & Shield—Chilling Reign acts as card draw, Energy acceleration, and an attacker all at once.

These Pokémon finally work together thanks to Gardevoir ex’s powerful Psychic Embrace Ability. With it, you can move plenty of Energy in one turn from your discard pile to your Gardevoir ex and use it to K.O. even a powerful Pokémon V. There are many more Pokémon that can be played in combination with Gardevoir ex, such as Cresselia, Zacian V (which can benefit from Sky Seal Stone). Even Mewtwo V-UNION would work.

Gardevoir does have to contend with a fast metagame—and the threat of Radiant Greninja and Sableye in Lost Zone decks—so it's a risky deck to play. In theory at least, it has the tools to beat any deck in the format. — Stéphane Ivanoff

Ellis Longhurst — Rotation. It’s a word that is music to the ears of competitive Pokémon TCG players (and Inkay enthusiasts). Rotation of the competitive card pool heralds a new era of the Pokémon Trading Card Game and usually promises a major shake-up of the established metagame. Adding even more complexity, the Europe International Championships will be the first opportunity for most players to compete using cards from the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet expansion. Many are hoping that the new Pokémon ex will find places at the top tables, with Gardevoir ex a particular favorite for the Championship title. Results from this event will certainly set the tone for the latter half of the 2023 Championship Series season.

Conspicuously absent from this edition of power rankings is Miraidon ex. On paper, this Pokémon has the hallmarks of a high performer. However, Miraidon ex decks only achieved middling results at Championships in Japan and Southeast Asia until the deck’s recent victory at Champions League Miyagi. There continues to be efforts to improve upon early iterations of this archetype, so I think it is unwise for competitors at the Europe International Championships to dismiss it during their preparation for the event. If not, a finely tuned Miraidon ex deck could give them a shock.

Christopher Schemanske — Ordinarily, the first format after the Standard rotation is not my favorite. Historically, there are often only a handful of expansions in format. This means that most decks need to rely on the same Supporter suite because there aren’t that many deck options available.

Thankfully, that’s not the case this year! I am thrilled about the timing of this rotation, both as a way to freshen up after an extended showing of Lugia VSTAR’s dominance and because it genuinely looks like a fun format filled with interesting cards. The last time we had a Standard rotation before a major event was the 2019 World Championships, which did not really generate a major shake-up. I think this time could be different, and I’m eager to see how Gardevoir ex, Miraidon ex, and the other Scarlet & Violet stars impact the game. My current feeling is that they will slot in around the middle of the pack, giving the format new options without overpowering what’s already there. Regardless, it’s going to be an exciting breath of fresh air, and I’m excited to see where players go with it!

For me, the deck to watch is Mew VMAX, and especially the Fusion Strike Energy variant that fell out of favor late last year. Its speed remains dangerous, and its consistency is still entirely unmatched. If I were playing in London, I’d be seriously considering it as a potential deck choice and paying attention to it as a potential threat. Drapion V, anybody?

Tord Reklev — Scarlet & Violet brings a couple new archetypes to the game, and I’m very excited to see how the loss of some of the most relevant cards from the previous format will impact this tournament, especially because we usually only see a rotation before the World Championships or before a new season begins. This time it happens right in the middle of the season, and players will have to adapt to these changes.

Compared to the formats of the last two International Championships in São Paulo and Melbourne, London will look very different. This is true even if most of the familiar decks, such as Lost Zone, Mew VMAX, Arceus VSTAR, and Lugia VSTAR, stick around.

A deck that didn’t quite make it all the way into our Top 5 list is the new Miraidon ex. In combination with Regieleki VMAX, Flaaffy from Sword & Shield—Evolving Skies, and the new Electric Generator Item card, this deck might be a dark horse for the Europe International Championships. These cards are all individually strong and provide the deck with coverage for various matchups.

I’m looking forward to seeing how Scarlet & Violet will impact the metagame and to the new beginning of the Pokémon TCG that awaits us.

Stéphane Ivanoff — I’m incredibly excited to attend the Europe International Championships and have the opportunity to play with the new cards from Scarlet & Violet expansion (and not just because of their cool new gray borders!). One card that I especially like is Klefki, which can slow down the game and disrupt decks that rely on Basic Pokémon such as Comfey, Radiant Greninja, or Genesect V. Currently, the top tier decks can't really make good of use of it, so Klefki's presence is limited. The card does have some downsides, such as shutting down your own Manaphy's Ability and being a liability against Sableye (arguably the best attacker of the format) in the late game.

However, Klefki's potential is huge against top tier decks such as Lost Box and Mew VMAX. If someone finds a way to exploit it, it could lead to great results. One possible way to do so would be to combine it with Hatterene V from the recent Crown Zenith expansion, which can hit for 80 damage with Teleportation Burst, go back to the Bench, and then send Klefki to the Active Spot instead. This way, it's possible to K.O. Pokémon such as Comfey and Sableye while keeping the Ability lock in place.

I doubt that that combination is good enough to really make a dent in the metagame, but it’s one of many ideas to keep an eye on when playing the new format!

Robin Schulz — There are a lot of reasons to be excited for this year’s EUIC! Not only will it be the biggest European tournament we’ve ever had, but it’s also the first major tournament of the Scarlet & Violet era! Since we’ve just had rotation, it’s basically impossible to accurately predict how the metagame will look. This will make it a very fun event to follow; I’m particularly interested in how the new Pokémon ex perform. Gardevoir ex made it straight into our Top 5, and just outside there’s the powerful Miraidon ex, which makes for a formidable deck in combination with Regieleki VMAX. The established contenders like Lost Zone or Mew VMAX might still be the favorites to win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw one of the new decks come out on top instead.

Another story that must be followed is that of Gustavo Wada. After winning the last two Europe International Championships, I’m sure he’ll try his absolute hardest to get the three-peat! It would be an incredible achievement that might never be repeated, like Tord Reklev’s three consecutive wins back in 2016–2017. Speaking of Tord, he’s also a player to watch—he’ll be trying to defend his current spot as number one on the European rankings!

Watch all the action live from London when the Pokémon TCG Europe International Championships begin on April 14. And be sure to check Pokemon.co.uk/Strategy for more Pokémon TCG strategy and analysis.