Thousands of Pokémon TCG competitors are in for tough challenges in the Big Easy when the North America International Championships begin on June 7. The difficult decisions begin even before arriving in New Orleans, as the players must research the top decks and choose the one they hope will carry them to victory.

For Pokémon TCG fans, those competitors’ difficult decisions make for more exciting battles to watch! And to help identify the decks to watch for, we’ve once again assembled our power rankings panel to break them down. Will newcomer Dragapult ex rocket to the top, or will stalwarts like Lugia ex and Charizard ex hold on to their glory? Read on, then catch the matches streaming live June 7–9 on Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG.

The Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade expansion is sure to bring changes to our format, but Dragapult ex is the most anticipated card by far heading into this year’s North America International Championships. Its Phantom Dive attack has an incredibly high damage output against Active Pokémon, while also spreading damage to the Bench. Especially impressive is how difficult it is to stop damage going onto the Benched Pokémon, as neither of the popular Bench protectors Manaphy or Jirachi will be able to block it. In addition, the new Drakloak has a highly consistent Ability, Recon Directive, to further help Dragapult ex decks set up by providing extra draw power per turn.

It seems like the big question surrounding Dragapult ex is not whether it will be successful, but which variant of the deck will turn out to be the strongest. Looking at the tournament results from Japan, we find plenty of variety in deck lists. Players will need to make a lot of decisions when building this deck, and one of the most important ones is how to accelerate Energy onto Dragapult ex, as Phantom Dive requires both a Psychic Energy and a Fire Energy. Xatu from the Scarlet & Violet—Paldean Fates expansion seems to be a popular option, but our former champion Charizard ex can make for an excellent partner as well. Even Mela, a Supporter that has not seen much play so far, could do the job.

With no Weakness, built-in consistency, and an amazing attack, Dragapult ex seems too good to flop. How players navigate this new threat to the metagame will be the deciding factor heading into NAIC! — Tord Reklev

Lugia VSTAR won the first major tournament in the Sword & Shield—Temporal Forces format at the Champions League in Fukuoka in Japan, but it has since struggled at the major tournaments elsewhere. However, its future is looking bright thanks to the introductions of the ACE SPEC card Legacy Energy and Carmine. Carmine may look like a mediocre card because of its discard plus draw-5 effect, but it can be used on the first turn when you go first! This gives Lugia VSTAR decks another solid Supporter that’s especially helpful in discarding its Archeops.

However, the main boost this deck gets is from Legacy Energy. Ever since the rotation of Aurora Energy, Lugia VSTAR has been desperate for anything that would let it use attackers that cost non-Colorless Energy, even using Single Strike Energy and some Basic Energy for a period of time. Just the one Special Energy of every type can power up a ton of attackers. With it, you can take extra Prizes with Iron Hands ex, attack multiple Pokémon with Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex, and even shuffle your Lumineon V back in with Aqua Return, which lets you use extra Luminous Sign Abilities throughout the game. Legacy Energy also comes with the bonus of a “Life Dew”-style effect of making the Pokémon it’s attached to give up one fewer Prize card, but this doesn’t come up too often as many decks are including Temple of Sinnoh or Enhanced Hammer as a response to the resurgence of Lugia VSTAR in the format.

I’m curious to see how Lugia VSTAR performs at NAIC—it gains a ton of power with Legacy Energy and has a favorable matchup against the new threat of Dragapult ex. But if enough players come packed with Temple of Sinnoh or Enhanced Hammer, Lugia VSTAR could significantly struggle at NAIC. However, if people decide to disrespect it, we could see another international win for Lugia VSTAR! — Natalie Millar

Miraidon ex has also emerged as a force to be reckoned with. However, this has little to do with what it gained from the Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade expansion, and a lot more to do with the expected popularity of other archetypes.

Hype surrounds Lugia VSTAR and the new Dragon-type Pokémon on the block, Dragapult ex. Both decks rely on Evolution Pokémon, which means they might struggle to set up under the early-game pressure that Electric Generator enables Miraidon ex to apply. The former has a Lightning-type Weakness, and it features essential support Pokémon like Archeops that can be Knocked Out in one hit by the Amp You Very Much attack of Iron Hands ex. Dragapult ex can do a maximum of 200 damage with Phantom Dive, which is insufficient to Knock Out Miraidon ex or Iron Hands ex. As a comeback method, it pales in comparison to Charizard ex’s Burning Darkness attack. Fortunately for Miraidon ex enthusiasts, Dragapult ex has tricks to keep Charizard ex in the dark.

Miraidon ex charged past over 2,700 competitors to claim the title at the Champions League in Sapporo, Japan, the first event at worldwide at which the Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade expansion was legal for competitive play. Will lightning strike twice or will Miraidon ex just be a flash in the pan? — Ellis Longhurst

If you’re like a lot of Pokémon TCG fans, you might have mixed feelings about Gardevoir ex. Since its release, it’s oscillated between being a top-of-the-format powerhouse and a relative bottom-dweller. Even between expansions (which have delivered intriguing new partners for Gardevoir ex, like Scream Tail from Scarlet & Violet—Paradox Rift and Flutter Mane from Scarlet & Violet—Temporal Forces), the metagame has shifted in ways that have dramatically boosted or harmed Gardevoir ex’s chances. Unfortunately, Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade doesn’t have much to offer this deck. Sure, Unfair Stamp is cool, but it’s not going to transform Gardevoir ex into a reliable force at the top.

That’s not great news, and things get a bit more awkward from there. Gardevoir ex has another enemy beyond its opposition—time! Playing out matches with Gardevoir ex is a considerable commitment, and the Best-of-3, 50-minute format for Regional and International Championships does not lend itself to Gardevoir ex’s success. Games simply take longer when your goal is to evolve multiple sets of Stage 2 Pokémon, making playing three full games a tall order. That means a Gardevoir ex player generally has to avoid losing any games at all to come away with a win in the match, which is a high standard of excellence—especially when Stage 2s are on the agenda.

In my mind, Gardevoir ex’s best hope at an NAIC title is in the hands of one of the stellar players who favor it, including our own Tord Reklev. It’s a deck that requires skillful play, as it comes with a lot of risks. While any run to the top of an event as large as NAIC will require a bit of luck, I’m not sure this is the path I’d choose. — Christopher Schemanske

Charizard ex, generally considered the best deck out of Scarlet & Violet—Temporal Forces, is still a contender for NAIC, but it has a lot to overcome. The strategy is still the same: use Charizard ex, supported by Pidgeot ex and/or Bibarel, to do more and more damage over the course of the game. However, no new cards from Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade fit into Charizard ex’s game plan, and it has to deal with more threats than ever before.

On one front, Dragapult ex matches up well against Charizard ex. It can trade two-hit KOs while also spreading damage on Charizard ex’s Bench, take Prizes off of small Basic Pokémon like Pidgey, or set up for a powerful Technical Machine: Devolution play. On another front, Lugia VSTAR was always a difficult opponent for Charizard ex, and the addition of Legacy Energy makes it even more so.

Charizard ex can adapt by including cards like Radiant Tsareena to heal damage spread by Dragapult ex, or Temple of Sinnoh to deal with Lugia VSTAR better. But to win NAIC, it will have to handle both of these, as well as other decks like Giratina VSTAR. This is a tall order, hence Charizard ex’s low placement on this list. — Stéphane Ivanoff

Natalie Millar: Charizard ex was a dominant deck after its release, winning the first four major events that happened outside of Asia. However, the presence of Dragapult ex appears to be keeping it down, as Charizard ex struggles against the spread damage of Phantom Dive and the eventual use of Technical Machine: Devolution. The reduced popularity of Charizard ex decks has led to a rise in Miraidon ex decks—and a victory for one at the Champions League in Sapporo—creating a sort of triangle in the metagame between Dragapult ex, Charizard ex, and Miraidon ex.

I have seen several players attempt to combine two of these decks into one and play Dragapult ex with Charizard ex, but that deck didn’t have much success at the Champions League in Sapporo. I also could see the Snorlax Stall deck slumbering its way through the new format. It did just win the Stockholm Regional Championships in the hands of Azul Garcia Griego, and it gains some new toys to play with—Accompanying Flute and Handheld Fan—that put opposing Pokémon into play and disrupt opposing Energy cards.

There are a lot of decks that demand specific answers in this current format, and I think the players who will see the most success are the ones who can balance these answers with their deck’s own consistency. In the past, consistency has played a major role in winning these big tournaments, but the trend was bucked at the last NAIC when Cyrus Davis won with the Rapid Strike deck. Will we see a straightforward deck win like Tord Reklev’s Charizard ex deck from EUIC, or will something come out of nowhere? I guess we will just have to find out!

Christopher Schemanske: A beautiful thing about the Standard format for NAIC 2024 is that you can find a deck to fit pretty much any style. Want to pursue intricate setup and have practically unlimited draw power? Gardevoir ex is ready for you. Care to play a careful game, controlling your opponent’s tempo as much as your own setup? Charizard ex is happy to assist. Is your goal to force your opponent to run out of cards? Snorlax, Eri, and others have created many such options. Simply want to blow through everything as quickly as possible? Miraidon ex and Iron Hands ex are the team for you. Want to draw mostly unplayable hands all day, but miraculously pull off some victories anyway? Lugia VSTAR is your friend.

Dragapult ex is the looming threat, though, to which all others must pay careful attention. 320 HP, no Weakness, and an Energy-cheap attack that threatens the Bench is a very powerful combination. If I were looking toward this wide-open world to bring home an NAIC title, I’d be hard-pressed to ignore the potential Dragapult ex presents as an answer to almost everything. My sense is that Dragapult ex won’t overwhelm any particular matchups, but it will have a chance in nearly every game—that’s hard to argue with in what might just be the largest International Championships ever. While I will be part of the event’s Professor Team instead of playing this year, I’m nevertheless excited to see what comes out on top in New Orleans. Best of luck to everyone playing for the title this year!

Tord Reklev: Some other cards I have on my radar for this event are the new Munkidori and Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex.

Munkidori with its Adrena-Brain Ability is nothing short of incredible. It seems like a flexible tech card for multiple archetypes, acting not only as a way to heal, but also as a damage modifier to take key Knock Outs. One of the best consistency cards from our previous tournaments, Cleffa, is Knocked Out immediately with this Ability. The deck that can probably utilize Munkidori the best is Gardevoir ex, since Gardevoir ex’s Ability naturally damages its own board. In addition, the Gardevoir ex deck usually does not rely that much on its hand attachments, which means the player will have an easier time attaching a Darkness-type Energy to Munkidori to activate its Ability.

Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex also seems like one of the strongest cards to appear for some time. For starters, it’s similar to Radiant Charizard, a card that has been featured in multiple tournament-winning decks since its release. What I find especially interesting about Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex is that it can attack for 0 Energy the moment the opponent has only one Prize card remaining. This is even stronger than Radiant Charizard, as its attack cost always requires at least a single Fire Energy card attached.

I think we will see a lot of games being eclipsed by a “Blood Moon” in the coming months, and I for one can’t wait for its debut!

Stéphane Ivanoff: An archetype that didn’t make our Top 5 but that I think has definite potential is Control. This deck aims to beat the opponent by countering their plans with Energy denial or locking a support Pokémon in the Active Spot, rather than by racing to six Prizes (although taking Prize cards is one of the win conditions). Control is rarely seen because it’s difficult both to play and to build: it has to adapt to the rest of the metagame and have a (sometimes completely different) game plan for each deck, whereas most decks usually play the same way no matter the matchup with only minor adjustments depending on the opponent. Plus, because of the shorter time limits, Control sees very little play in Japan, so there’s no blueprint to help Western players build the deck the way there is for more popular decks like Dragapult ex.

Nevertheless, Control devotees like Alessandro Cremascoli, who reached Top 4 at EUIC, prove time and time again that underestimating this deck is a mistake that top players can’t afford to make. Don’t be surprised when a handful of experts do well with it!

Ellis Longhurst: If I had to describe the 2024 North America International Championships in one word, it would be “new.” The event will take place in a new location—New Orleans, Louisiana. Players will compete for the first time using cards from the newest expansion—Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade. And a new record for the number of Pokémon TCG competitors at a tournament in the Championship Series is expected to be set. Perhaps there will also be a new name to add to the list of International Championships winners!

The title is not the only prize for which players are competing. The 2024 NAIC is the final opportunity to earn Championship Points before the 2024 World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The top players by Championship Points across the 2024 season—the top 16 players from the North America region, top 22 players from Europe, top 12 players from Latin America, top 4 from Oceania, and top 2 from the Middle East—will receive a Travel Award worth thousands of dollars and a Round 1 Bye at the World Championships.

Most eyes will be on the top tables in New Orleans, but every match will be important to players trying to earn a Travel Award, regardless of whether they are still in contention for a seat on Championship Sunday. Keep up to date with the journeys of your favorite players by checking out the Play! Pokémon Leaderboard and tuning in to the official broadcast of the 2024 NAIC.

For more Pokémon TCG competitive strategy and analysis, please visit Pokemon.co.uk/Strategy.