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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.
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.
With the World Championships coming up, I am still trying to figure out what to play. In my last article, I discussed where the various decks stood in the
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.