With the Pokémon TCG Autumn Regional Championships completed, players are now turning their focus toward the next series of events, the Pokémon TCG City Championships. These events will take place over the course of three months, which gives players a lot of time to try new decks and analyze which strategies are winning. With so many tournaments to attend, the City Championships are a big opportunity for players to rack up Championship Points. In fact, many players consider these events the key to earning an invitation to the World Championships.

City Championship events can use either the Standard or Expanded format—check the event locator or contact the event organizer to find out what format your upcoming tournament will be. The Autumn Regional Championships used the Expanded format, which has been pretty well covered. To get a refresher of what strategies have been successful in Expanded, check out the Top 8 deck lists from Regionals. The start of the City Championships is a good time to shift our attention to the Standard format.

Mega Manectric Moves On

Mega Manectric-EX emerged as a competitive deck strategy during the 2015 Play! Pokémon Championship Series, and has since improved to become one of the most successful decks in the Standard format. Using Manectric Spirit Link, it’s pretty easy to start attacking with this 210 HP Mega Evolution Pokémon by the second turn of the game. Turbo Bolt does a solid 110 damage and can power up another Pokémon in the process. Then, after Mega Manectric-EX has taken a few hits, Rough Seas can heal some of the damage. If things get too hairy, you can retreat it for free and bring up a another Mega Manectric-EX to brace for the next attack. It’s a strategy that provides constant pressure while shedding damage.

The biggest threat to Mega Manectric-EX has been Pokémon that can do enough damage to take it down in one attack. However, many of these threats were left behind with the 2016 Play! Pokémon season rotation. Landorus-EX was a huge hurdle with its major type advantage, and Keldeo-EX could build up Secret Sword enough for a one-hit Knock Out. Night March decks also posed a problem, and those are less potent without Mew-EX. Now that most of its counters are out of the Standard format, Mega Manectric-EX has been able to dominate.

On top of everything else, Mega Manectric-EX has gained a few new Pokémon to help it out. Regice's Resistance Blizzard attack is a great way to shut down opposing Pokémon-EX. In this deck, it’s particularly useful against Pokémon that Mega Manectric-EX has trouble with, such as Lucario-EX and Giratina-EX.

Hoopa-EX with its Scoundrel Ring Ability also gives this deck a big boost in consistency. Just one use of this Ability can search out Manectric-EX, Mega Manectric-EX, and Shaymin-EX to draw more cards. Players have figured out how to use Mega Manectric-EX to its full potential, so expect to see plenty of it during City Championships.

The Many Sides of Giratina-EX

At first glance, Giratina-EX might seem like more trouble than it’s worth. Its Chaos Wheel attack requires four Energy to use, and two of those have to be Grass and Psychic. But thanks to Double Dragon Energy, Giratina-EX is finding wins in a lot of different ways. It’s most commonly paired with Seismitoad-EX, a duo that’s had a lot of success in the Expanded format. And even in the Standard format, without the added power of Hypnotoxic Laser, this deck remains powerful. Seismitoad-EX’s Quaking Punch slows down any deck that relies on Item cards, and Chaos Wheel punishes any strategy that relies on Special Energy cards. Add the Energy denial of Crushing Hammer and Enhanced Hammer, and this strategy is capable of defeating just about anything.

Another strategy for Giratina-EX pairs it up with Bronzong. One of the biggest problems with Chaos Wheel is its massive Energy cost. If Giratina-EX gets Knocked Out, it can be difficult to power up another one quickly. Bronzong’s Metal Links Ability can help by attaching extra Energy from the discard pile every turn. It only works with Metal Energy, but that’s just fine for covering the Colorless part of the attack cost—Double Dragon Energy takes care of the rest. Some decks can handle one Giratina-EX, but a constant barrage of Chaos Wheel can be too much to overcome. This deck also includes Tyrantrum-EX to deliver big hits, offering another option to win games.

Aromatisse and its Fairy Transfer Ability also pair well with Giratina-EX. In the early turns of a game, players can use Xerneas and its Geomancy attack to attach Fairy Energy to Giratina-EX quickly (again, fulfilling the Colorless part of that attack cost). Plus, Double Dragon Energy counts as Fairy Energy as long as it’s in play, which means Fairy Transfer can move it from one Giratina-EX to another. With the Fairy Garden Stadium card in play, it’s easy to switch between two different Giratina-EX and keep using Chaos Wheel. When one is close to being Knocked Out, AZ can put it back in its owner’s hand for a fresh start.

With so many different ways to use Giratina-EX, you’re almost certain to face it eventually, in one deck or another. Be ready!

Other Potential Strategies

Decks using Vespiquen had a lot of success in the Expanded format, and we suspect that they’ll be strong in the Standard format, too. The big difference in Standard is that players don’t have the Flareon with Vengeance to use as an alternate attacker. As a result, it’s very easy to run out of steam with only four Vespiquen to work with. To compensate, players have experimented with using Jolteon or Flareon to attack for Weakness against more types of Pokémon. Flareon’s Flare Effect Ability also allows Blacksmith to power up Vespiquen quickly.

Decks built around Mienshao have also emerged in the Standard format. The idea is to use its Aero Turn and then send out a Robo Substitute so the opponent won’t be able to take any Prize cards. Alternatively, a Fighting-type Pokémon with a Focus Sash can generally survive any single attack, also denying Prize cards. Eco Arm can be used to recover Focus Sash, creating a truly frustrating scenario for the opponent. Slowly but surely, this deck can wear down opposing Pokémon for a victory.

Landorus-EX is out of the Standard format, but Lucario-EX is right there to take its place as the Fighting-type Pokémon of choice. With the use of Strong Energy, Muscle Band, and Fighting Stadium, it’s easy to put a lot of pressure on the opponent right away. Crobat's Surprise Bite can add extra damage from the Bench, making this aggressive strategy even more dangerous. It’s not a complicated strategy, but it is very effective.

As always, Mega Rayquaza-EX is a threat to win at any tournament. The Sky Field Stadium card allows up to 8 Pokémon on the Bench, meaning the Emerald Break attack can do up to 240 damage. The Δ Evolution Ancient Trait and Rayquaza Spirit Link let Mega Rayquaza-EX enter the field on the first turn, and then Mega Turbo can charge it up immediately. Shaymin-EX and Hoopa-EX can use their Abilities to make this deck super speedy. When Emerald Break is powered up on the first turn, it’s extremely difficult to stop Mega Rayquaza-EX.

What kind of impact will the new XY—BREAKthrough expansion have on the Standard format? It’s tough to know for sure, but we’re going to focus on some cards that stand out as game-changers.

Trainer Cards

Trainer cards are a huge part of crafting a winning Pokémon TCG deck, and XY—BREAKthrough features a mix of new and previously printed ones that could have immediate, game-changing impact. Perhaps the most important returning card is Float Stone, which many strategies relied on to aid in moving Pokémon around. Super Rod provides a flexible way to recover resources. Judge is a card we haven’t seen since the HeartGold & SoulSilver Series, but its hand disruption is sure to make an immediate impact on the Standard format. Fisherman is a great way to recover basic Energy, and Heavy Ball is a welcome addition to any strategies using Pokémon with high Retreat Costs.

One of the more interesting new Trainer cards is Parallel City. For the first time in the Pokémon TCG, this Stadium card has two different effects depending on which way the card is facing. Both sides can have a big impact on the game. For example, reducing the damage from Seismitoad-EX’s Quaking Punch can really hurt that deck’s strategy. On the other hand, limiting a player’s Bench to three Pokémon can severely limit their options—not to mention the damage output of Mega Rayquaza-EX.

Giovanni’s Scheme is another intriguing card, giving players the option to draw cards or attack for extra damage. Brigette also gives a choice: searching for one Basic Pokémon-EX or three Basic Pokémon that aren’t EX, depending on what works better in that situation. There are plenty of options with the Trainer cards from this expansion, and that should make things exciting.

Powerful Pokémon

It’s too early to say which new Pokémon from XY—BREAKthrough are locks to make a difference in upcoming battles, but several of them look like they could become star performers. Take a look at some of the Pokémon we think you’ll be seeing at City Championship events in the next few months.

Of all the Pokémon BREAK in the latest expansion, Zoroark BREAK might be the one that gets the most attention. Foul Play is only as powerful as the opponent’s Pokémon’s attacks, but it could result in something as massive as Mega Rayquaza-EX's Dragon Ascent—for just one Energy. But what really makes Zoroark BREAK excel is the Zoroark it evolves from. Zoroark’s Stand In Ability is identical to Keldeo-EX's Rush In, an effect that has been used in many successful strategies. The Mind Jack attack is also very powerful if the opponent has a lot of Benched Pokémon. Don’t forget that Zoroark BREAK retains Zoroark’s attacks and Abilities after it evolves, so it gets to take advantage of these great assets as well.

There are plenty of Mega Evolution Pokémon to look at, but Mega Mewtwo-EX stands out from the rest. Its 210 HP is about average for a Mega Evolution Pokémon, but its attack is where it shines. Psychic Infinity may remind players of the classic Mewtwo-EX and its X Ball attack, which won previous National and World Championships. Psychic Infinity is even stronger than X Ball, doing 10 damage plus 30 more for each Energy attached to both Active Pokémon. The damage adds up quickly, especially when Mega Mewtwo-EX uses Mega Turbo or Bronzong to accelerate Energy. Don’t be surprised if this Pokémon makes some noise for quite a while.

Blastoise and Keldeo-EX proved their worth at the 2015 World Championships, and XY—BREAKthrough brings two cards that may seem familiar. Magnezone’s Magnetic Circuit Ability is similar to Blastoise’s Deluge, and Raikou's Thunder Lance attack is similar to Keldeo-EX’s Secret Sword. The big difference is that Magnezone can’t take advantage of Archie’s Ace in the Hole, so this strategy is going to be much slower. Raikou doesn’t have Keldeo-EX’s Rush In Ability, and its HP is lower. But it only gives up one Prize card when defeated (since it isn’t a Pokémon-EX), and its Shining Body Ability gives it some durability. We’ll have to wait and see if this classic strategy can re-emerge in the Standard format.

City Championships are always exciting, and XY—BREAKthrough is sure to shake things up. Be sure to check back at Pokemon.com/strategy for new deck ideas, tournament results, and more. Good luck at the City Championships, Trainers!