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The following article was written by former moderator Gale. In it, he recaps what performed well at Battle Roads and how you can best prepare for Regionals. Thank you Gale for your hard work in writing this one!
Hi there, PokeBeach! It's somewhat odd to talk to you all through this medium, considering it's been almost two years since my last article. I took a bit of a break from the Pokemon TCG, but I'm back and I have to say I'm excited. Battle Roads have just come to a close and it was so much fun for me to get back into the game and see all my friends. I did end up winning one Battle Roads out of the three that I went to. This year, Battle Roads were different than they have been in the past years. This year, we utilized the Championship Point system, which meant players who perform better in events and who place higher in events will be more rewarded. A lot of players were split on this, and even now some cannot decide if it is the right direction the game should be heading. We'll talk more about that later, because right now, I want to talk to you all about what exactly happened at Battle Roads, and what is likely to happen at Regionals.
It's no secret that we knew what was going to be popular going into this Battle Roads season. Decks that performed well at Worlds such as Reshiram variants, Zekrom variants, Magnezone variants, Mew variants, and Stage 1s variants were sure to do well at Battle Roads. However, there were some unexpected surprises. With the new Emerging Powers set, we saw the release of three game changing cards. Gothitelle, Tornadus, and Pokémon Catcher. All three of these cards found their way into our metagame and are definitely not leaving. Prior to Battle Roads, people expected Zekrom to become an even better deck than it had previously been, thanks to the release of Pokémon Catcher and Tornadus. As we can see now, this was absolutely true. Zekrom variants have won more Battle Roads than any other deck. Zekrom took home 31 wins, which is tied for first with Reshiram variants. Thanks to the What Won Autumn Battle Roads thread on PokéGym for this information. (I'm only using the Masters division results for the purposes of this article.)
So, why is Zekrom so good? Is it all because of Pokemon Catcher and Tornadus? Tornadus does help Zekrom by giving it another attacker and an answer to Donphan, and Pokemon Catcher generally improves all of Zekrom's matchups. Zekrom can be considered the best deck in the format right now because it has the overall best matchups. Zekrom is likely to advance further in Top Cut because it can take an easy win in one game, be able to lose another, and possibly either take an easy win in another game, or make it go to time and use their available three turns to pull ahead if they haven't already. Zekrom is just overall a safe play for anyone, but there are answers to it. There is one deck that more than any deck can reliably beat Zekrom. Gothitelle could be seen as the deck's biggest problem if Zekrom doesn't get the donk off. If Zekrom can't donk Gothitelle, Gothitelle will lock Zekrom, and Zekrom will never be able to one-shot Gothitelle. Gothitelle is an extremely uphill battle for Zekrom, and if Zekrom continues to see popularity, Gothitelle will as well.
Speaking of Gothitelle, if we look back at the results of what won Autumn Battle Roads, we can see that Gothitelle has won its fair share. 13 Battle Roads victories is nothing to scoff at, and I think the reason it hasn't won more is because people aren't playing it enough. Before Battle Roads, many players were skeptical of Gothitelle's ability to perform well in tournaments. Now we can obviously see there was no reason for anyone to think Gothitelle wouldn't do well. Expect a lot of people to play Gothitelle at Regionals, seeing as it beats the biggest metagame decks, which are Zekrom variants, Reshiram variants, and Stage 1 variants. The only thing Gothitelle really has an autoloss to is Mewbox variants. Mew variants were not very popular at Battle Roads, and I think that is in part because they don't perform well in Top Cut, and their matchups against other decks in the metagame such as Stage 1s, Primetime, and Zekrom aren't exactly favorable. Still, if Gothitelle and Mewbox were to meet in Top Cut, Mewbox would have an extreme advantage.
So, let's talk about Reshiram variants. Everyone knew after Nationals and Worlds that Reshiram was one of the best decks in format, behind only Zekrom. Obviously, people were right, and Reshiram has won... exactly the same number of Battle Roads as Zekrom has. So let's take a look at why that might be. I myself am responsible for one of those wins with Reshiram. Reshiram is a deck that I believe was strong during the opening weeks of Battle Roads, and is still very strong, but maybe not as much. Gothitelle can completely destroy Reshiram. Trainer lock is a huge problem for Reshiram, and it can't escape this problem unless the Reshiram deck runs Kingdra. So if Reshiram doesn't have as many good matchups as Zekrom does, why has it been winning just as many Battle Roads? Not only have more people played Reshiram than they have Gothitelle, but Reshiram is a reliable deck. Gothitelle isn't always going to get a T2 Gothitelle and Reuniclus. That's just not going to happen because it requires a lot of resources. Tyram is going to get a T2 Typhlosion and/or Ninetales most of the time because the deck is so focused on that and nothing else. Even with T3 Typhlosions, Tyram can still stay more consistent than Gothitelle. Once your Gothitelle is knocked out, you're in a difficult position. Reshiram decks that play Kingdra have no problem one-shotting a Gothitelle. Against other decks, Tyram has proven it stands a chance. Stage 1 variants, Primetime, and Mew variants are all in Tyram's favor, and Zekrom is about a 50/50 matchup.
Stage 1s have been doing well at Battle Roads, but maybe not as well as expected. One would have thought that with the release of Pokemon Catcher, Stage 1 decks would rise in popularity, due to their ability to Catcher up a useful Pokemon and kill it quickly before it evolves, or to just stall while they use Yanmega to snipe the bench. A lot of people play Stage 1 decks, and it can be argued that it's its own worst enemy. There are so many variants out there, from the usual Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark, to Cinccino variants, to Weavile variants, to even Beartic variants. This is a versatile deck that can be tailored to your metagame. So why hasn't it won as many Battle Roads as it probably should have? Well, Zekrom got a bit of an advantage against Stage 1s thanks to Tornadus. Gothitelle just straight up has a good matchup against Stage 1s. Primetime versus Stage 1s is about even, as it seems to have always been. There's not much to say except that Stage 1s just did not do well in Top Cut, mostly because its worst matchups made Top Cut so often.
And then there's the rest. I can't talk about every single deck that took a few first place victories, but I will point out several things. What's a bit of a shock to me is that google's famous deck that he used to take second place at Worlds last year took home three first place victories. Three may not seem like a huge number, but for a rogue deck like that to find its place in the metagame is interesting. Looking back, these last few Battle Roads have been more interesting than people want to say, and the metagame is much more diverse than it is given credit for.
The concept of Fall Regionals is interesting, and has taken many people by surprise. What's even more interesting is we will not be able to play the new Noble Victories set at Regionals. This means that our metagame from Battle Roads should carry over to Regionals, right? Maybe not. Because we have two Regionals now, there will be twice as many players at Regionals now, but minus half the locals. We are in a format where it's a necessity for decks to tech against other decks. Reshiram decks will want Kingdra for Gothitelle, Primetime decks will want Kingdra as well, and Zekrom decks want to consider Mew to improve their Gothitelle matchups. Be careful not to make the common mistake of overteching, and if you're going to tech, make sure it doesn't mess up your consistency.
Sometimes it's easy to forget how much skill it really takes to play the Pokemon TCG. If we just set aside our theorymon and our brainstorming for a second, we begin to realize how difficult it is to make decisions on the fly, based on ever-changing conditions within the specific game we're playing. Decks like Tyram and ZPST are formulaic. They rely on getting set up, and once they do, there are few decisions they are forced to make after that. Once you get a few Typhlosion out and a Reshiram attacking, as long as you have a fallback option you can just autopilot your way to victory. No offense meant to Tyram players, seeing as I am one myself, but it's the truth. Now take a look at another deck, in this case, Primetime. Primetime, on paper, is a simple deck with a simple strategy. When you actually play it in a real game, however, there are varying ways the game can go. With Tyram, you know your strategy is going to be use Typhlosion to power up Reshiram and Blue Flare every turn. With ZPST, you know your strategy is to use Pachirisu and Shaymin to keep your energy flowing to Zekrom and occasionally Tornadus. With Primetime, you may have a strategy going into the match if you know what deck your opponent is playing, but other than that, you can't really say, "I'm going to get this Pokemon out and start doing this no matter what".
With Primetime, if you lose access to your Magnezone somehow, or you just can't get them out, you have to use Yanmega to attack while you burn all your resources trying to find your Magnezone. Speaking of resources, you have to conserve a lot of the resources you aren't burning for later on in the game, especially energy and trainers like Pokemon Catcher and hand disruption cards like Judge. But if your opponent is setting up faster than you, then you have to adjust the way you play to match their speed. Maybe focus on Yanmega earlier on and just have one or two Magnezone to get your draw going. If you play Jirachi, you have to decide when you want to use that. If you play Pachirisu, you have to decide when you want to use that. If you play Kingdra, you have to decide when you want to use that, and how you want to use it. There are just so many different routes you can go, and it takes a skilled player to both see those routes and adjust them as the game progresses. Tyram and ZPST are going to be played at Regionals, no doubt about that. But if you compare your average Tyram or ZPST player with your average Primetime player, most of the time, the Primetime player is the more experienced one, or the one who is able to think on their feet more easily. The same goes for Gothitelle. Gothitelle requires a lot of thought and play-by-play thinking in order to achieve what you want to achieve. You have to make sure you move your damage counters correctly, you have to make sure you Catcher up the right Pokemon, you have to make sure of a lot more things than Tyram or ZPST does.
Decks that require more skill are going to be played less than other decks, but they will advance farther in Regionals because the player playing the deck is likely skilled. I'm not saying every Tyram or ZPST player is awful, or that every Primetime or Gothitelle player is smarter than anyone else. But Primetime and Gothitelle require someone who knows what they're doing to operate.
The metagame is going to vary depending on your location, of course, but there are certain decks that are definitely going to see a lot more play than others. ZPST is more than likely going to be the most played deck at Regionals. It's relatively inexpensive, incredibly easy to use, and performs very well at tournaments. Especially in Top Cut, ZPST will have a huge advantage against other decks thanks to 30+3. ZPST just outperforms other decks thanks to its speed and ability to consistently take prizes. To counter the influx of ZPST, Gothitelle will also see a lot of play. However, like we discussed earlier, Gothitelle will see the most play from experienced players who feel comfortable with the deck. People who don't know how to use Gothitelle or are only using it to counter the meta aren't going to do as well as those who use Gothitelle because that's the deck they want to play. Gothitelle is a safe choice for Regionals, but it's something you have to feel comfortable with.
A few notable changes from Battle Roads that I think we'll be seeing at Regionals are the lack of Tyram. Tyram will still be around, absolutely, but I feel like it's not going to do as well as it has so far. Gothitelle has an unbelievable good matchup against it, ZPST, like I said, is about a 50/50 matchup (possibly more in ZPST's favor), and above all, Tyram is easy to play against. Tyram is a predictable deck, and now that people understand how Catcher has improved the overall matchup for decks against Tyram, it's easier than ever to counter it. I really don't foresee Tyram taking first place at any Regionals. It's still a safe play I think, but if you're the person playing Tyram, it will be an overall uphill battle for you to advance through Top Cut.
There are, of course, a lot of other decks that will be seen a lot. One thing I would like to mention is Magneboar. Magneboar wasn't seen in Top Cut hardly at all at Battle Roads. That can be attributed to people being afraid to play it because of Catcher, I think. I feel like Magneboar is a strong play for Regionals because it has a good matchup against Tyram. Magneboar can do really well in swiss if it plays a lot of Tyram's, and come Top Cut, it depends what it plays. It will likely have problems Gothitelle, but can do very well against ZPST. Magneboar vs Gothitelle depends a lot on who goes first, and who has the better start. That can be said for almost every matchup in this format, but it's especially true for this one. Magneboar does have the advantage of being able to OHKO Gothitelle, but Catcher obviously is going to hurt.
Primetime and Stage 1s will be around and will be safe plays. Again though, with Primetime, I reiterate my point once again about skill being a huge factor in playing this deck. I think a fair number of people will be playing Primetime, and I think a fair number of those people will probably advance to Top Cut. Stage 1s depends on what variant you're playing, but if it's the standard Megazord, then you'll probably see a few of those in Top Cut as well. Top Cut is going to be dominated by ZPST, Goth, and probably Primetime. ZPST above anything else, though.
One last point I want to bring up is Mew and google. Mewbox, as a deck, is going to have some difficult times at Regionals. ZPST will most likely be a problem, as will Stage 1s. Mewbox with the right techs will do very well against Gothitelle, so it's difficult to say exactly how well Mew will perform. google as well will probably have a difficult time at Regionals, especially in 30+3. We'll see more Mew than google's, that's for sure. I don't think we'll see many Mew in Top Cut, but that's debatable.
So that's that. This season has started off very interestingly with a lot of different decks doing well at Battle Roads, but now I think at Regionals we'll see a select few outperforming the rest. ZPST and Gothitelle will see a lot of play, Tyram won't be seen in Top Cut as much as before but people will still play it, and Primetime, Stage 1s, and Magneboar are all great decks that are sure to be seen as well. But again, play whatever you're comfortable with. It's usually not a great idea to decide a week or a day before Regionals what you want to play, so start testing whatever deck you have in mind now. I hope you enjoyed reading, and good luck to everyone at Regionals!
Credit to Gliscor for the amazing banner
Hi there, PokeBeach! It's somewhat odd to talk to you all through this medium, considering it's been almost two years since my last article. I took a bit of a break from the Pokemon TCG, but I'm back and I have to say I'm excited. Battle Roads have just come to a close and it was so much fun for me to get back into the game and see all my friends. I did end up winning one Battle Roads out of the three that I went to. This year, Battle Roads were different than they have been in the past years. This year, we utilized the Championship Point system, which meant players who perform better in events and who place higher in events will be more rewarded. A lot of players were split on this, and even now some cannot decide if it is the right direction the game should be heading. We'll talk more about that later, because right now, I want to talk to you all about what exactly happened at Battle Roads, and what is likely to happen at Regionals.
What's Been Winning and Why
It's no secret that we knew what was going to be popular going into this Battle Roads season. Decks that performed well at Worlds such as Reshiram variants, Zekrom variants, Magnezone variants, Mew variants, and Stage 1s variants were sure to do well at Battle Roads. However, there were some unexpected surprises. With the new Emerging Powers set, we saw the release of three game changing cards. Gothitelle, Tornadus, and Pokémon Catcher. All three of these cards found their way into our metagame and are definitely not leaving. Prior to Battle Roads, people expected Zekrom to become an even better deck than it had previously been, thanks to the release of Pokémon Catcher and Tornadus. As we can see now, this was absolutely true. Zekrom variants have won more Battle Roads than any other deck. Zekrom took home 31 wins, which is tied for first with Reshiram variants. Thanks to the What Won Autumn Battle Roads thread on PokéGym for this information. (I'm only using the Masters division results for the purposes of this article.)
So, why is Zekrom so good? Is it all because of Pokemon Catcher and Tornadus? Tornadus does help Zekrom by giving it another attacker and an answer to Donphan, and Pokemon Catcher generally improves all of Zekrom's matchups. Zekrom can be considered the best deck in the format right now because it has the overall best matchups. Zekrom is likely to advance further in Top Cut because it can take an easy win in one game, be able to lose another, and possibly either take an easy win in another game, or make it go to time and use their available three turns to pull ahead if they haven't already. Zekrom is just overall a safe play for anyone, but there are answers to it. There is one deck that more than any deck can reliably beat Zekrom. Gothitelle could be seen as the deck's biggest problem if Zekrom doesn't get the donk off. If Zekrom can't donk Gothitelle, Gothitelle will lock Zekrom, and Zekrom will never be able to one-shot Gothitelle. Gothitelle is an extremely uphill battle for Zekrom, and if Zekrom continues to see popularity, Gothitelle will as well.
Speaking of Gothitelle, if we look back at the results of what won Autumn Battle Roads, we can see that Gothitelle has won its fair share. 13 Battle Roads victories is nothing to scoff at, and I think the reason it hasn't won more is because people aren't playing it enough. Before Battle Roads, many players were skeptical of Gothitelle's ability to perform well in tournaments. Now we can obviously see there was no reason for anyone to think Gothitelle wouldn't do well. Expect a lot of people to play Gothitelle at Regionals, seeing as it beats the biggest metagame decks, which are Zekrom variants, Reshiram variants, and Stage 1 variants. The only thing Gothitelle really has an autoloss to is Mewbox variants. Mew variants were not very popular at Battle Roads, and I think that is in part because they don't perform well in Top Cut, and their matchups against other decks in the metagame such as Stage 1s, Primetime, and Zekrom aren't exactly favorable. Still, if Gothitelle and Mewbox were to meet in Top Cut, Mewbox would have an extreme advantage.
So, let's talk about Reshiram variants. Everyone knew after Nationals and Worlds that Reshiram was one of the best decks in format, behind only Zekrom. Obviously, people were right, and Reshiram has won... exactly the same number of Battle Roads as Zekrom has. So let's take a look at why that might be. I myself am responsible for one of those wins with Reshiram. Reshiram is a deck that I believe was strong during the opening weeks of Battle Roads, and is still very strong, but maybe not as much. Gothitelle can completely destroy Reshiram. Trainer lock is a huge problem for Reshiram, and it can't escape this problem unless the Reshiram deck runs Kingdra. So if Reshiram doesn't have as many good matchups as Zekrom does, why has it been winning just as many Battle Roads? Not only have more people played Reshiram than they have Gothitelle, but Reshiram is a reliable deck. Gothitelle isn't always going to get a T2 Gothitelle and Reuniclus. That's just not going to happen because it requires a lot of resources. Tyram is going to get a T2 Typhlosion and/or Ninetales most of the time because the deck is so focused on that and nothing else. Even with T3 Typhlosions, Tyram can still stay more consistent than Gothitelle. Once your Gothitelle is knocked out, you're in a difficult position. Reshiram decks that play Kingdra have no problem one-shotting a Gothitelle. Against other decks, Tyram has proven it stands a chance. Stage 1 variants, Primetime, and Mew variants are all in Tyram's favor, and Zekrom is about a 50/50 matchup.
Stage 1s have been doing well at Battle Roads, but maybe not as well as expected. One would have thought that with the release of Pokemon Catcher, Stage 1 decks would rise in popularity, due to their ability to Catcher up a useful Pokemon and kill it quickly before it evolves, or to just stall while they use Yanmega to snipe the bench. A lot of people play Stage 1 decks, and it can be argued that it's its own worst enemy. There are so many variants out there, from the usual Donphan/Yanmega/Zoroark, to Cinccino variants, to Weavile variants, to even Beartic variants. This is a versatile deck that can be tailored to your metagame. So why hasn't it won as many Battle Roads as it probably should have? Well, Zekrom got a bit of an advantage against Stage 1s thanks to Tornadus. Gothitelle just straight up has a good matchup against Stage 1s. Primetime versus Stage 1s is about even, as it seems to have always been. There's not much to say except that Stage 1s just did not do well in Top Cut, mostly because its worst matchups made Top Cut so often.
And then there's the rest. I can't talk about every single deck that took a few first place victories, but I will point out several things. What's a bit of a shock to me is that google's famous deck that he used to take second place at Worlds last year took home three first place victories. Three may not seem like a huge number, but for a rogue deck like that to find its place in the metagame is interesting. Looking back, these last few Battle Roads have been more interesting than people want to say, and the metagame is much more diverse than it is given credit for.
What to Look Forward to at Our First Fall Regionals
The concept of Fall Regionals is interesting, and has taken many people by surprise. What's even more interesting is we will not be able to play the new Noble Victories set at Regionals. This means that our metagame from Battle Roads should carry over to Regionals, right? Maybe not. Because we have two Regionals now, there will be twice as many players at Regionals now, but minus half the locals. We are in a format where it's a necessity for decks to tech against other decks. Reshiram decks will want Kingdra for Gothitelle, Primetime decks will want Kingdra as well, and Zekrom decks want to consider Mew to improve their Gothitelle matchups. Be careful not to make the common mistake of overteching, and if you're going to tech, make sure it doesn't mess up your consistency.
Skill
Sometimes it's easy to forget how much skill it really takes to play the Pokemon TCG. If we just set aside our theorymon and our brainstorming for a second, we begin to realize how difficult it is to make decisions on the fly, based on ever-changing conditions within the specific game we're playing. Decks like Tyram and ZPST are formulaic. They rely on getting set up, and once they do, there are few decisions they are forced to make after that. Once you get a few Typhlosion out and a Reshiram attacking, as long as you have a fallback option you can just autopilot your way to victory. No offense meant to Tyram players, seeing as I am one myself, but it's the truth. Now take a look at another deck, in this case, Primetime. Primetime, on paper, is a simple deck with a simple strategy. When you actually play it in a real game, however, there are varying ways the game can go. With Tyram, you know your strategy is going to be use Typhlosion to power up Reshiram and Blue Flare every turn. With ZPST, you know your strategy is to use Pachirisu and Shaymin to keep your energy flowing to Zekrom and occasionally Tornadus. With Primetime, you may have a strategy going into the match if you know what deck your opponent is playing, but other than that, you can't really say, "I'm going to get this Pokemon out and start doing this no matter what".
With Primetime, if you lose access to your Magnezone somehow, or you just can't get them out, you have to use Yanmega to attack while you burn all your resources trying to find your Magnezone. Speaking of resources, you have to conserve a lot of the resources you aren't burning for later on in the game, especially energy and trainers like Pokemon Catcher and hand disruption cards like Judge. But if your opponent is setting up faster than you, then you have to adjust the way you play to match their speed. Maybe focus on Yanmega earlier on and just have one or two Magnezone to get your draw going. If you play Jirachi, you have to decide when you want to use that. If you play Pachirisu, you have to decide when you want to use that. If you play Kingdra, you have to decide when you want to use that, and how you want to use it. There are just so many different routes you can go, and it takes a skilled player to both see those routes and adjust them as the game progresses. Tyram and ZPST are going to be played at Regionals, no doubt about that. But if you compare your average Tyram or ZPST player with your average Primetime player, most of the time, the Primetime player is the more experienced one, or the one who is able to think on their feet more easily. The same goes for Gothitelle. Gothitelle requires a lot of thought and play-by-play thinking in order to achieve what you want to achieve. You have to make sure you move your damage counters correctly, you have to make sure you Catcher up the right Pokemon, you have to make sure of a lot more things than Tyram or ZPST does.
Decks that require more skill are going to be played less than other decks, but they will advance farther in Regionals because the player playing the deck is likely skilled. I'm not saying every Tyram or ZPST player is awful, or that every Primetime or Gothitelle player is smarter than anyone else. But Primetime and Gothitelle require someone who knows what they're doing to operate.
So What's the Metagame?
The metagame is going to vary depending on your location, of course, but there are certain decks that are definitely going to see a lot more play than others. ZPST is more than likely going to be the most played deck at Regionals. It's relatively inexpensive, incredibly easy to use, and performs very well at tournaments. Especially in Top Cut, ZPST will have a huge advantage against other decks thanks to 30+3. ZPST just outperforms other decks thanks to its speed and ability to consistently take prizes. To counter the influx of ZPST, Gothitelle will also see a lot of play. However, like we discussed earlier, Gothitelle will see the most play from experienced players who feel comfortable with the deck. People who don't know how to use Gothitelle or are only using it to counter the meta aren't going to do as well as those who use Gothitelle because that's the deck they want to play. Gothitelle is a safe choice for Regionals, but it's something you have to feel comfortable with.
A few notable changes from Battle Roads that I think we'll be seeing at Regionals are the lack of Tyram. Tyram will still be around, absolutely, but I feel like it's not going to do as well as it has so far. Gothitelle has an unbelievable good matchup against it, ZPST, like I said, is about a 50/50 matchup (possibly more in ZPST's favor), and above all, Tyram is easy to play against. Tyram is a predictable deck, and now that people understand how Catcher has improved the overall matchup for decks against Tyram, it's easier than ever to counter it. I really don't foresee Tyram taking first place at any Regionals. It's still a safe play I think, but if you're the person playing Tyram, it will be an overall uphill battle for you to advance through Top Cut.
There are, of course, a lot of other decks that will be seen a lot. One thing I would like to mention is Magneboar. Magneboar wasn't seen in Top Cut hardly at all at Battle Roads. That can be attributed to people being afraid to play it because of Catcher, I think. I feel like Magneboar is a strong play for Regionals because it has a good matchup against Tyram. Magneboar can do really well in swiss if it plays a lot of Tyram's, and come Top Cut, it depends what it plays. It will likely have problems Gothitelle, but can do very well against ZPST. Magneboar vs Gothitelle depends a lot on who goes first, and who has the better start. That can be said for almost every matchup in this format, but it's especially true for this one. Magneboar does have the advantage of being able to OHKO Gothitelle, but Catcher obviously is going to hurt.
Primetime and Stage 1s will be around and will be safe plays. Again though, with Primetime, I reiterate my point once again about skill being a huge factor in playing this deck. I think a fair number of people will be playing Primetime, and I think a fair number of those people will probably advance to Top Cut. Stage 1s depends on what variant you're playing, but if it's the standard Megazord, then you'll probably see a few of those in Top Cut as well. Top Cut is going to be dominated by ZPST, Goth, and probably Primetime. ZPST above anything else, though.
One last point I want to bring up is Mew and google. Mewbox, as a deck, is going to have some difficult times at Regionals. ZPST will most likely be a problem, as will Stage 1s. Mewbox with the right techs will do very well against Gothitelle, so it's difficult to say exactly how well Mew will perform. google as well will probably have a difficult time at Regionals, especially in 30+3. We'll see more Mew than google's, that's for sure. I don't think we'll see many Mew in Top Cut, but that's debatable.
Conclusion
So that's that. This season has started off very interestingly with a lot of different decks doing well at Battle Roads, but now I think at Regionals we'll see a select few outperforming the rest. ZPST and Gothitelle will see a lot of play, Tyram won't be seen in Top Cut as much as before but people will still play it, and Primetime, Stage 1s, and Magneboar are all great decks that are sure to be seen as well. But again, play whatever you're comfortable with. It's usually not a great idea to decide a week or a day before Regionals what you want to play, so start testing whatever deck you have in mind now. I hope you enjoyed reading, and good luck to everyone at Regionals!
