As the first International Championships event of the year, the Pokémon TCG Latin America International Championships is always a fascinating event to play in and watch. Competitors can make huge strides early in the Championship Series season and get on the right path toward a Worlds invitation.
This year, the competitors have their work cut out for them, as a large number of powerful decks will be on display. Legacy decks such as Lugia VSTAR continue to make waves, while newer Pokémon, like Terapagos ex, look to shine bright.
Fortunately for fans at home, our Power Rankings panel experts are here to give you insights on what to watch for when the exciting matches begin on November 15. Be sure to check out the battles, complete with expert commentary throughout, at Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG.
Regidrago VSTAR burst onto the scene before the World Championships and has consistently seen success at Regional Championships, including a win at the 2025 Pokémon TCG Lille Regional Championships by James Cox. Regidrago VSTAR has been plagued by an unfavorable matchup against Raging Bolt ex, especially since Bravery Charm became a staple inclusion in them. Regidrago VSTAR decks appear to have centralized with using Super Rod as the recovery engine and using Noctowl from Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown to assist them with finding those key Trainer cards at the right time, such as Energy Switch and Prime Catcher.
The options provided by the Apex Dragon attack have made this deck take the No. 1 spot in the rankings heading into LAIC. While many lists only have three attacking options, the combination of Kyurem’s Trifrost, Dragapult ex’s Phantom Dive, and Giratina VSTAR’s Lost Impact is often enough to get you over the line against any opposing deck, even if the matchup is slightly unfavorable. I would expect many experienced players to gravitate toward Regidrago VSTAR for this International Championships event because of the options it gives you when trying to race your opponent to six Prize cards. I’ve won many games with Regidrago VSTAR that I should have had no business winning thanks to the power of those three attacks, and I would expect it to still be doing that in São Paulo. — Natalie Millar
Here’s the most important question many Lugia VSTAR players face in a tournament—heads or tails?
No deck embodies a boom-or-bust mentality quite like Lugia VSTAR / Archeops. For players like Rahul Reddy—who has been on an incredible run with Lugia VSTAR since placing ninth at the World Championships—important games can come down to a Capturing Aroma flip or a Mesagoza heads. And that’s only after you avoid an opening hand of Iron Bundle and six Energy cards…
Any deck with 15+ Energy cards is always a shakier proposition in my mind, though the success of many decks of that variety can’t be denied. I think that most competitors have aligned on at least 55 of the 60 cards in the “best” deck list for Lugia VSTAR, so instead, the Pokémon’s viability is up to the metagame in my mind. If Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR / Dusknoir and Regidrago VSTAR are core features of the field at LAIC, Lugia VSTAR will be well positioned to take advantage of some of its best matchups. On the other hand, if a wealth of Iron Thorns ex show up in São Paulo, things will get quite dicey for Lugia VSTAR.
Ultimately, if I were playing in LAIC, I would probably aim for something meaningfully more reliable, but for players looking to take a bit of a chance, there’s no denying that Lugia VSTAR is a strong choice—you cannot beat attaching copious Energy from your deck, after all. I’m confident that someone will make a deep run with it, though, and I think that potential to win it all is why our panel is so optimistic. — Christopher Schemanske
Raging Bolt ex is a powerhouse. It is a Basic Pokémon with 240 HP, no Weakness, and can do enough damage with its Bellowing Thunder attack to Knock Out any of the popular Pokémon ex or Pokémon VSTAR in one hit.
With a robust draw engine, and Teal Mask Ogerpon ex and Professor Sada’s Vitality to enable Energy acceleration from Turn 1 of the game, Raging Bolt ex can reliably Knock Out one of those multi-Prize Pokémon from the first turn it can attack. Such a combination of speed and power is unmatched in the Standard format.
Notice that all the decks in these Power Rankings share one thing in common—their strategies are centered on a Pokémon ex or Pokémon VSTAR. This is the perfect metagame for Raging Bolt ex to take six Prize cards in the first three or four turns.
I expect Raging Bolt ex to be particularly popular at the 2025 Latin America International Championships because its uncomplicated style of play will be attractive to both players who are new to the Pokémon TCG and those who have competition experience. — Ellis Longhurst
When Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown released, players were optimistic about its prospects with the new Area Zero Underdepths Stadium card, since with eight Pokémon on the Bench, Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR’s Subspace Swell could reach higher than its usual 260 damage maximum. While this idea didn’t work out in practice, Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR still found a role in the metagame in combination with Dusknoir. By using the Cursed Blast Ability, it is possible to take out Manaphy as early as Turn 2, letting Radiant Greninja use Moonlight Shuriken unimpeded, taking two Prizes off of key Basic Pokémon like Charmander, Ralts, Pidgey, and Dreepy, and taking a huge lead before the opponent can establish a strong board. The effectiveness of this strategy made Stage 2 decks like Charizard ex much less effective than they seemed at first. With the Fighting-type Greninja ex added to the mix, Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR can even handle bothersome Lightning-type Pokémon like Iron Hands ex and Iron Thorns ex.
However, against high-HP Pokémon like Regidrago VSTAR and Lugia VSTAR, which can’t be easily Knocked Out before they evolve, Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR is less effective. As these types of decks seem to still be the top threats of the metagame, Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR has to settle for an honorable fourth place in our rankings. — Stéphane Ivanoff
The poster Pokémon of the newest expansion, Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown, has a lot going for it, which could make it a real threat going into any big event. Thanks to Fan Rotom and Noctowl, the engine revolving around Terapagos ex is one of the strongest in the current format. Area Zero Underdepths allows Unified Beatdown to reach important numbers and gives more space for additional support Pokémon on the Bench, which also increases the deck’s consistency.
Dusknoir’s Cursed Blast Ability helps the deck reach even the mightiest of Pokémon and can be used to Knock Out multiple Pokémon at once, pressuring the opponent’s setup heavily from the start. Combined with Briar, it is not uncommon for Terapagos ex to take anywhere from three to five Prize cards in a single turn. In a tournament setting, this can be a massive advantage—being able to speed up the game and finish fast can turn what would otherwise be a tie into a victory.
I would describe Terapagos ex as a deck that is reliant on pressure and speed. As with any deck using Dusknoir, it’s strong at preserving the advantage given to it and not letting the opponent back into the game easily. However, when Terapagos ex finds itself on the backfoot, its relatively low HP can often make it difficult for the deck to launch any significant comebacks. For that reason, I am an advocate of running Bouffalant with the Curly Wall Ability to give Terapagos ex some extra staying power and make the deck more well-rounded. I have no doubt Terapagos ex could be a serious contender for this year’s LAIC! — Tord Reklev
Parting Shots
Stéphane Ivanoff: The Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown format is a very open one, and many decks beyond the top five are serious contenders to win LAIC. Charizard ex, Snorlax Stall, and Dragapult ex are the first ones that come to mind, but one that may slip off some players’ radar is Banette ex / Gardevoir ex. For a long time, it was a fringe archetype that a small group of Polish players believed in and brought to tournaments. Recently, though, more players have given the deck a try due to its strong matchup against many popular decks. Banette ex prevents the opponent from playing Item cards with its Everlasting Darkness attack, so a Stage 2 deck like Charizard ex can’t play Rare Candy to evolve into Charizard ex. Everlasting Darkness is also strong against Item-heavy decks like Raging Bolt ex and Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR / Dusknoir, as it severely limits these decks’ options. One can either keep the Item lock up all game (using Munkidori's Adrena-Brain Ability to complement Banette ex’s damage) or switch to Banette ex’s Poltergeist attack to take KOs and close out the game faster. The deck has many subtle and interesting lines, so it’s not easy to pick up, but for a tournament as competitive as an International Championship, I’m sure we’ll see some elite players bring it.
Ellis Longhurst: For the first time in a long time at an International Championships event, players will not be navigating the introduction of a new Pokémon TCG expansion to the card pool. The metagame of the Standard format is well established, so you may think it is easy to predict the winning deck of the 2025 Pokémon TCG Latin America International Championships. However, a variety of decks have won at Regional Championships around the globe since the release of Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown, and many others have placed in the Top 8…including Dragapult ex, Lost Box, and Charizard ex, which do not rank in our top five.
Picking the Champion player of the 2025 Pokémon TCG Latin America International Championships is just as difficult, but results from previous years indicate that there are a few who seem to receive a performance boost when competing at this event. Stay tuned to the official Pokémon broadcast to hear updates on Ciaran Farah from North America, Pedro Pertusi and Fabrizio Inga Silva from Latin America, Bryan de Vries from Europe, and Matthew Burris from Oceania. Each of these players has earned a place in the Top 32 at the last two LAICs, including a ninth-place finish or better.
Natalie Millar: LAIC is an interesting tournament because the new Scarlet & Violet—Surging Sparks expansion is not legal for play. This gives it a very different feeling to previous International Championships, as players aren’t scrambling to find ways to fit the new cards into the metagame and are instead focusing on refining the decks that already exist. The Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown metagame has been one of the most diverse we have seen in a long time, with several decks that didn’t make the top five that have the potential to win the whole event!
I would like to highlight Gardevoir ex and Dragapult ex, two decks that have won Regional Championships this season that didn’t make the list. Dragapult ex has a very strong matchup against Terapagos ex, as you can remove your opponent’s board with Phantom Dive and Dusknoir’s Cursed Blast Ability. Henry Chao’s turbo Gardevoir ex deck appears to be the best way to play the deck still, with Rare Candy giving you the opportunity to get a Gardevoir ex into play on Turn 2, and you can take advantage of the lack of Pokémon Tool removal in deck lists by using Drifloon aggressively. There are a ton of options for the Latin America International Championships, and I expect the metagame to be wide open for the final tournament of the Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown format.
Tord Reklev: Normally, the Internationals are the events that kickstart the official legality of new expansions; however, this year’s LAIC will be special. The new expansion, Scarlet & Violet—Surging Sparks, barely misses the event and will not be legal. That means we will be going into this International Championships with a very established metagame already. I am interested to see how this will affect players’ deck and tech choices. Regidrago VSTAR decks have been on a tear recently, while Raging Bolt ex consistently is the most popular deck in the room on the first day of competition. I think Lugia VSTAR potentially can take advantage of the situation, having a favorable matchup against both.
It would also be fun to see an underdog deck such as Miraidon ex run away with the event, like what happened last year with Juho Kallama. My personal favorite, however, is the engine featured in Terapagos ex, and it will be the deck I’m cheering for to take it all this year.
Christopher Schemanske: We’re in the beautiful season of the Pokémon TCG’s Standard format where there are a lot of legal cards, but we’re also in a funny patch where players have been playing a very similar format for quite a few events now. For players, the large card pool presents a lot of opportunity for innovative options to take hold, but at this stage, if anyone was sitting on a secret plan, I imagine they’d have tipped their hand at one of the recent Regional Championships. The biggest innovations at LAIC might be small adjustments in card counts or an unforeseen tech, rather than a new deck altogether.
As a player, these late-stage events can be immensely rewarding—imagine spending months perfecting play with a deck and having the opportunity to show that off at one of the game’s highest stages. They can be immensely frustrating, too, of course—all of that preparation into a quick 0–2 start can be pretty depressing. As a viewer, though, the intrigue will come from what’s not yet seen. Someone will have inevitably crafted a deck envisioned to crack the metagame—the only question is whether it will work! For better or worse, my prediction is that this LAIC unfolds pretty in-line with our expectations for Regidrago VSTAR / Lugia VSTAR / Raging Bolt ex…but we’ll have to watch to find out!
Don’t miss the action at the 2025 Pokémon TCG Latin America International Championships from November 15–17 at Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG.
And for more Pokémon TCG strategy and analysis, visit Pokemon.com/Strategy.
Natalie has been playing Pokémon casually since late 2013 but started attending more competitive tournaments in late 2017. She won the first Regional Championships after the pandemic in her home city of Brisbane, Australia, and has been attending most major tournaments since. Outside of Pokémon, she studied psychology, but it doesn’t help with reading opponents as much as you would think. You can find her at most major tournaments and can follow her on X at @nataliem9999.
Christopher Schemanske is a contributing writer for Pokemon.com. He's been playing the Pokémon TCG since 2010, with a streak of Worlds invitations between 2012–2018. Nowadays, he enjoys splitting his Pokémon time between playing and being part of the awesome Professor staff teams at major events.
Ellis Longhurst is a contributing writer for Pokemon.com. She has been competing in high-level Pokémon TCG tournaments since 2006 and creating written content for the Pokémon community since 2011. Now she brings some Australian flavour to the Play! Pokémon commentary teams at the International and World Championships.
Stéphane Ivanoff is a contributing writer for Pokemon.com. A longtime Pokémon fan, he has played the Pokémon TCG competitively since 2010 and is a former National Champion, seven-time Worlds competitor, and the 2018 and 2019 North America International Champion in the Masters Division. He studied mathematics and has a degree in Probability and Statistics, but he says that doesn't help his game as much as you'd think! You can follow him on X @lubyllule.
Tord Reklev is a contributing writer for Pokemon.com. He is a longtime player from Norway, playing the game since he was 6 years old. In becoming Champion at the 2022 Latin America International Championships, Tord is the first player to win all four International Championships and complete the Grand Slam. Outside of the game, he is a student and enjoys playing tennis. You can find him at most big events and can follow him on X at @TordReklev.
