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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.