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Andrew Hedrick won the TCG Masters division with Dragapult in San Francisco, while Jake N. and Yuta Araki took the Senior and Junior titles.
Andrew Hedrick swept the best-of-three Masters final after a Stadium removal rescued game one and a Red Card disrupted Diego Cassiraga’s hand-based Alakazam strategy in game two.
Alakazam/Dudunsparce is pitched as an August Worlds sleeper after winning Indianapolis Regionals, despite placing only two decks in NAIC’s Top 64 amid an unfavorable Dragapult ex matchup.
Hey PokeBeach readers! It’s Michael and I am happy to be back with another article. Last time, I discussed and its persistence as a threat in the current
Isaiah Cheville argues Raging Bolt is a strong counterplay option for Worlds 2026, where Dragapult ex could reach 40–50% of the field based on post-rotation usage.
Michael Bio outlines scouting and deckbuilding methods for the 2026 Worlds in San Francisco, using Crustle’s 25%+ NAIC conversion rate as a case study in countering predictable metas.
Dragapult is projected to comprise 40–50% of the Worlds meta in San Francisco, with N’s Zoroark, Slowking, Festival Lead and Mega Excadrill among its leading challengers.
Gabriel Smart argues Slowking could exploit a Worlds field where Dragapult may represent 30–45% of the metagame, while warning that Shaymin is a major counter.
Dragapult ex and Festival Lead rank first and second among contenders for Worlds, running August 28–30 at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
The anti-meta Crustle wall deck is a Worlds contender, but Dragapult techs and fringe matchups such as Festival Lead and Slowking make it a risky metagame choice.
The Worlds deck analysis assumes Dragapult ex could reach 50% of the field, while the author gives Dragapult ex or Mega Excadrill ex a combined 90%-plus chance of being his choice.
Dragapult ex is forecast to exceed 50% of the Worlds field, while Pitch Black additions such as Mega Excadrill ex are expected to make only limited changes from the NAIC metagame.
Grant Manley expects Dragapult to exceed 50% of the Worlds metagame and argues Mega Lucario ex can counter Dragapult, N’s Zoroark ex and Crustle despite weak recent results.
Testing suggests Pitch Black decks will claim only 10–12% of the metagame, while Dragapult ex builds evolve through tech choices such as three or four Crushing Hammer copies.
Alakazam/Dudunsparce is pitched as an August Worlds sleeper after winning Indianapolis Regionals, despite placing only two decks in NAIC’s Top 64 amid an unfavorable Dragapult ex matchup.
Dragapult ex/Blaziken ex ranks first after Pitch Black reshaped the Standard meta, followed by Mega Excadrill ex; the guide targets Worlds preparation in late August.
The newly released set introduces Hide 'n' Sneak, a viable Dhelmise-led archetype with competitive matchups against Dragapult ex and other two-Prize decks ahead of Worlds.