The first International Championships of the season is on the way, with players from around the world arriving in São Paulo, Brazil, ready to battle. They’ll be met by a formidable crop of local players ready for any challenge. The Latin America International Championships is also the first tournament where the Scarlet & Violet—Paradox Rift expansion is legal for play, so all players will be on the lookout for powerful new decks.

To get fans prepared for the upcoming competition, we’ve brought our Power Rankings panel together once again to examine the top decks that they expect to see. From tried-and-true decks to brand-new challengers, find out what you can expect to see when the battles begin November 17 on Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG.

A lot of hype has been generated for Miraidon ex ahead of the Latin America International Championships. This Lightning-type toolbox deck is fresh from a victory at the Toronto Regional Championships and has gained a handful of new cards from the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Paradox Rift expansion that will help it continue to excel.

As Basic Lightning-type Pokémon, Iron Hands ex and Tapu Koko ex can be searched for and put onto the Bench with Miraidon ex’s Tandem Unit Ability. Their attacks improve the versatility of the deck, specifically by adding a much-needed way to manipulate the Prize race via Iron Hands ex’s Amp You Very Much and a way to control the tempo of the game via Tapu Koko ex’s Vengeful Shock. I expect to see some variance in the way that Trainers approach deckbuilding, as tough decisions will need to be made about whether these new Pokémon feature alongside or in lieu of current powerhouses Raichu V, Raikou V, and Flying Pikachu V.

The latest expansion includes plenty of exciting new cards, and there have been no official tournaments where the latest expansion has been legal for competitive play, so it is difficult to predict the metagame for LAIC. In these situations, it is wise to bring a deck to battle that is both versatile and can consistently perform its strategy. With Flaaffy’s Dynamotor, the new Earthen Vessel Item card, and the new Technical Machine: Turbo Energize to help power up Pokémon found through Tandem Unit, it is unlikely that Miraidon ex will short-circuit. — Ellis Longhurst

In terms of power level, Chien-Pao ex paired with Baxcalibur from the Scarlet & Violet—Paldea Evolved expansion is hard to beat. Chien-Pao ex can do practically unlimited damage, which is great for dealing with large, multi-Prize threats. Radiant Greninja can be used against low-HP, single-Prize targets, making the deck versatile against most matchups. I think the biggest shortcomings of the deck, and the reasons it has struggled to break through and get a major tournament win, have been its consistency and its relatively fragile board state. The deck has a lot of moving parts and can struggle against hand-disrupting cards like Iono or Stadium cards like Path to the Peak.

Heading into Scarlet & Violet—Paradox Rift, the deck gets another very interesting option in Iron Hands ex. It’s relatively easy to get this Pokémon going with Baxcalibur and Earthen Vessel, which lets you grab the Basic Lighting Energy for its attack. Iron Hands ex keeps the Energy in play, protecting the Bench by creating another high-pressure target for the opponent. We might also see Counter Catcher make its way onto some lists because of its great synergy with Irida.

If Chien-Pao ex gets set up properly, I’m not sure what will be able to stop it—we have seen in the past it’s not always easy. The new Iron Valiant ex might also pose a problem for the deck by sniping down Frigibax before it gets the chance to evolve.

Heading into LAIC, I expect this deck archetype will be one of the most respected and popular in the room. — Tord Reklev

While a lot of the top decks heading into LAIC are newer to the scene, Mew VMAX has been a constant contender since its release in late 2021. This deck has shifted from a Fusion Strike Energy / Meloetta focus to a Double Turbo Energy focus, then back to Fusion Strike Energy. Through all that, it has never lost its power to deliver clean, one-hit Knock Outs against almost everything in the Standard format, which is its greatest strength. Mew VMAX has faced down some of the clearest counters the Pokémon TCG has ever seen—including Drapion V and Spiritomb, which both have Abilities that feel lab-created to target Mew VMAX and friends—and remained a top-tier foe all along. Konsta Kallama was victorious at the recent Lille Regional Championships with Mew VMAX, showing it still has the stuff to compete.

We know that Scarlet & Violet—Paradox Rift is shaking things up big-time. So, what’s next for Mew VMAX? The new expansion doesn’t do a whole lot for the Pokémon itself, but it does create a hostile environment for some of its biggest enemies, Comfey / Lost Zone Toolbox and Gardevoir ex. While I think it’s premature to consider either of those decks dead, they’re both on life support at the minimum. Sometimes the best boost a deck can receive is the elimination of its bad matchups, and that’s what Mew VMAX faces here. The next format looks likely to feature a lot of Basic Pokémon ex that can’t deal with Mew VMAX efficiently, instead of Comfey and Gardevoir ex, and that’s good news for all fans of the Fusion Strike style.

Ultimately, if every player shows up with Drapion V and Spiritomb, things might get dicey for Mew VMAX. I have a hard time believing that’ll happen, and that makes me excited about Mew VMAX’s chances in Brazil. — Christopher Schemanske

Despite some early skepticism from players, Charizard ex quickly established itself as one of the best decks in the format during recent Regional Championships. Charizard ex’s high HP, incredible late-game damage output, and excellent typing make it difficult to deal with for most other decks, and the Infernal Reign Ability makes it easy to set up multiple attackers throughout the game. We’ve seen many different variants of the Charizard ex deck, with partners like Pidgeot ex, Gallade, and Arceus VSTAR, and even a combination with the Lost Zone engine.

Compared to other Evolution-based decks like Gardevoir ex, Charizard ex doesn’t require a lot of setup to get going—a single Rare Candy is enough to immediately start attacking. This will be very important against the new cards from Scarlet & Violet—Paradox Rift! Iron Hands ex can close out games in just a few turns when left unchecked, which is a huge issue for slower decks. Charizard ex, however, can easily punish aggressive approaches like that to the point where many decks don’t even want to take the first Knock Out against it.

There is a possible problem for Charizard going into LAIC, though: The popularity of Chien-Pao ex. Even though Charizard ex doesn’t have Weakness to Water-type Pokémon, the Chien-Pao ex / Baxcalibur deck doesn’t have much difficulty reaching 330 damage, which makes for a tough matchup. If Chien-Pao ex lives up to its high placement in our Power Rankings, that could be bad news for Charizard ex players. — Robin Schulz

Roaring Moon ex is one of the new powerhouses from Scarlet & Violet—Paradox Rift. This powerful Basic Pokémon can hit for 220 damage by discarding a Stadium in play, and it can also deal with higher-HP Pokémon with its Frenzied Gouging attack, which will Knock Out anything at the cost of Roaring Moon ex doing 200 damage to itself. This combination of high damage and the capacity to KO any Pokémon is reminiscent of Giratina VSTAR, a successful archetype over the past year.

Roaring Moon ex is a Darkness-type Pokémon, which is great for two reasons. First, it hits Mew VMAX for Weakness, giving it a good matchup against one of the strongest decks around. Second, it can be powered up by Dark Patch. Combine that with the new Professor Sada’s Vitality, and it’s reasonable to expect to attack on the very first turn of the game, especially since both these forms of Energy acceleration go well with draw cards like Radiant Greninja, PokéStop, and Squawkabilly ex, which can all discard Darkness Energy.

I expect Roaring Moon ex to be supported by Pokémon like Bibarel or Darkrai VSTAR, and possibly assisted by secondary attackers like Galarian Moltres or Morpeko, but the Ancient Pokémon will be the star of the deck. Its self-damage can be mitigated by extra HP from Ancient Booster Energy Capsule or healing from Emergency Jelly, but expect Roaring Moon ex to be a fast archetype, not a durable one. — Stéphane Ivanoff

Stéphane Ivanoff: One of the many cards that couldn’t fit into our top five decks, and my pick for the deck with the highest potential, is Iron Valiant ex. Tachyon Bits is one of the best Abilities in the whole game: putting damage counters on the board is very powerful, and Iron Valiant ex can do so every turn. With four of them in play, you can add eight damage counters to your opponent’s board in one turn, enough to KO many low-HP Pokémon!

As threatening as that seems, Iron Valiant ex players will need to figure out how to deal with bigger threats like Pokémon ex. Iron Valiant ex could be used in combination with other attackers, like Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX and Medicham V (which have always seen success combined with cards that can put damage counters on the opponent’s Pokémon), or it could be used as an attacker itself, powered up by Xatu, for example. It even has synergy with Ting-Lu ex, which might finally find its time to shine. The best way to use Iron Valiant ex remains to be discovered, but I think if a player figures out how to best take advantage of its huge potential, they have a chance at winning the whole event!

Robin Schulz: The biggest LAIC of all time, the first International Championships after this season’s increase in prize money, the first tournament after Scarlet & Violet—Paradox Rift shakes up the metagame in a big way…there are many reasons to be excited for the upcoming competition!

Just like in recent formats, I expect a huge variety of decks to show up. For the first time since their respective release, Gardevoir ex, Lugia VSTAR, and Lost Zone decks have not made it into our Power Rankings, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good anymore or won’t see play. There are also new decks like Gholdengo ex or Iron Valiant ex that have the potential for high placements. I’m sure we’ll see a lot of different strategies at this tournament, which should make for a very entertaining stream.

One of the fun things to observe at Internationals is the friendly rivalry among the four ranking regions. With many of the best players in the world expected to be in attendance, will the Latin American players be able to defend the title on their home turf? Two of the local favorites have to be William Azevedo and Pedro Pertusi, who, among numerous other accomplishments, dominated the most recent Regional Championships in Brazil with their creative takes on Charizard ex. And of course we can’t ever forget about Gustavo Wada, one of the most successful players of all time, who would surely like to add the title of LAIC Champion to his impressive resume!

Christopher Schemanske: Something unique about the current Standard format is the number of one-card techs that can entirely change a matchup. Worried about Radiant Greninja hurting your small Basic Pokémon? Manaphy is here to help. Sableye cramping your style? Jirachi is at your service. Not a fan of Mew VMAX? Drapion V and Spiritomb are both ready to go. Have room for all of them on your Bench? Of course not.

Choosing to include one of these Pokémon to shore up a bad matchup, or “teching” for that matchup, can be a really attractive option for players. Who doesn’t like sitting down to a match and knowing you’re on the fast track to a win just based on the cards in your deck? The downside comes when you functionally have a 59-card deck playing against any other matchup, which is why the best techs are often useful against multiple matchups. The other fear: sometimes opponents have an answer! Bellibolt is a theoretical barrier against Miraidon ex decks, but if your Miraidon ex opponent also happens to have a Mew ex in store, you’ll have wasted your time (and a Bench spot) for nothing.

And now there are more tech options than ever. To me, the key to success this LAIC is choosing the deck that needs to include the fewest techs and can win on its own core strategy—in other words, against Mew VMAX and Miraidon ex. The other option is to find a deck that can afford to include a full suite of techs without distracting from its core strategy, which is where something like Roaring Moon ex might shine. Like many players, I think the Standard format is at a fascinating crossroads, and I’m excited to see what shakes out at LAIC!

Ellis Longhurst: The Latin America International Championships is one of my favorite events each season because it often feels like a celebration of players from that region. The top tables are flush with local talent who may not travel abroad regularly to compete, which means that viewers of the Championships broadcast are treated to exciting matches and new storylines to follow.

In recent years, however, this event has been dominated by players from Europe and North America. The most recent LAIC Champion trophies were earned by Power Rankings panelists Robin Schulz and Tord Reklev and in 2019 and 2022, respectively. (Does that mean that Stéphane, Christopher, or I will win it in 2023?)

It is conceivable that a player from Oceania could earn a top spot at LAIC this year, particularly if their name is Brent Tonnison. Since placing 10th at the 2023 Pokémon World Championships, Brent has traveled to four Regional Championships around the globe and achieved a place in Day 2 at all of them, including 7th place in Peoria, Illinois. Brent achieved all of these results with Gardevoir ex, which does not feature on this edition of the Power Rankings. Despite this, I have confidence that Brent will continue his streak.

Tord Reklev: It looks like the trend of strong November sets continues. Roaring Moon ex, Iron Valiant ex, Iron Hands ex, and Gholdengo ex are major additions to the metagame, and all are strong enough to build separate archetypes around. Even though Iron Valiant ex did not make our top five list, I still think it could shape up to be one of the scariest decks in the format if players can find the right list.

The introduction of Counter Catcher is also major, and it adds another reason for players to avoid Knock Outs at certain points in the game. Last year, we saw Europeans doing really well at LAIC, with three players in the Top 8. I think the tournaments with new expansions are always the most fun, simply because of how unpredictable they are. With limited time, players are much less likely to make the same decisions for deck lists, which should make for an entertaining stream and tournament experience for everyone involved. This is also the closest we have ever been to an expansion release with Japan, which means players will have to work even harder with the limited information available from results.