If you want to experience playing like a pro, here are some of the best decks we’ve seen during the 2025 Pokemon TCG World Championships!
As always, the Pokemon World Championships are known for revealing highly competitive decks, and spectators around the globe are eager to see how these quality decks hold their own against each other.
For 2025, Gardevoir ex finally made its way to the Pokemon TCG throne as Canada’s Riley McKay clinched the World Championship title for the Masters Division against Justine Newdorf of the United States. The grand final was nothing but an action-packed battle between a Gardevoir and a Dragapult-Dusknoir deck.
To recap this year’s biggest Pokemon TCG showdown, we’re breaking down McKay and Newdorf’s winning deck build along with the three other decks that rounded out the top five. And to keep things interesting, we’ll be counting them down in reverse order.
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5 Best Decks of the 2025 Pokemon TCG World Championships (Masters Division)
5. N’s Zoroark
Mateusz Łaszkiewicz’s Decklist:
| Pokemon | Trainers | Energy |
|---|---|---|
| 4x N’s Zorua 4x N’s Zoroark ex 3x Munkidori 2x N’s Reshiram 1x Fezandipiti ex 1x Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex 1x Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex 1x Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex | 4x Arven 3x Iono 3x Boss’s Orders 1x Professor’s Research 1x Professor Turo’s Scenario 3x Nest Ball 3x Buddy-Buddy Poffin 2x Counter Catcher 1x Ultra Ball 1x Super Rod 1x Pal Pad 1x Night Stretcher 1x Energy Switch 1x Secret Box 1x Earthen Vessel 1x Switch 1x N’s PP Up 2x Technical Machine: Turbo Energize 1x Technical Machine: Evolution 1x Air Balloon 2x Artazon | 7x Darkness Energy 1x Fighting Energy |
This deck by Mateusz Łaszkiewicz takes advantage of Zoroark ex’s Night Joker move to copy and spam the moves of N’s Reshiram as it safely hides on the Bench Spot.
Many meta decks this year prioritize slow but powerful Stage 2 Pokemon ex, and Zoroark’s being a Stage 1 that can dish out more than 100 damage in the first few turns can be devastating when used in tournaments.
However, despite Zoroark ex’s ability further amplifying its effectiveness in matches, its lack of firepower limited its true potential in the World Championships, although it did secure a respectable finish.
4. Charizard-Pidgeot
Junya Tanaka’s Decklist:
| Pokemon | Trainers | Energy |
|---|---|---|
| 4x Charmander 2x Charmeleon 3x Charizard ex 2x Pidgey 1x Pidgeotto 2x Pidgeot ex 2x Duskull 1x Dusclops 1x Dusknoir 1x Cleffa 1x Chi-Yu 1x Fezandipiti ex | 4x Arven 3x Iono 3x Boss’s Orders 1x Jacq 1x Briar 4x Buddy-Buddy Poffin 3x Ultra Ball 3x Rare Candy 2x Counter Catcher 2x Super Rod 1x Nest Ball 1x Technical Machine: Evolution 1x Air Balloon 1x Maximum Belt 2x Artazon | 6x Fire Energy 1x Mist Energy |
This build is basically just a rotation-friendly variation of our Charizard ex deck. Take note that the 4th- and 3rd-place players both used an altered version of Charizard ex, but we decided to feature the 4th-placer Junya Tanaka’s build instead.
As expected, Charizard ex and Pidgeot ex remained powerful contenders in the current rotation due to their strong comeback potential. All a player needs for this deck to work is to acquire a Pidgeot ex as early as possible, use its ability to set up Charizard ex, and let the fire lizard do its job.
Tanaka sure made a great decision in adding more promising pieces to this build, including a Dusknoir with its 13-damage counter move that also sends itself to the discard pile, giving the opponent one Prize Card—something that Charizard ex will benefit from.
3. Raging Bolt-Ogerpon
Shizuki Nakagawa’s Decklist:
| Pokemon | Trainers | Energy |
|---|---|---|
| 3x Hoothoot 3x Noctowl 3x Raging Bolt ex 3x Teal Mask Ogerpon ex 2x Fan Rotom 1x Raging Bolt 1x Koraidon 1x Ditto 1x Chien-Pao 1x Latias ex 1x Squawkabilly ex 1x Fezandipiti ex | 4x Professor Sada’s Vitality 2x Boss’s Orders 1x Crispin 1x Iono 1x Professor Turo’s Scenario 4x Nest Ball 4x Ultra Ball 3x Earthen Vessel 2x Night Stretcher 1x Energy Retrieval 1x Energy Switch 1x Prime Catcher 3x Area Zero Underdepths | 5x Grass Energy 3x Lightning Energy 3x Fighting Energy |
Simple to understand, but deadly in the current meta. This is the best way I could describe the Raging Bolt-Ogerpon ex.
With three Earthen Vessel cards, you get to retrieve a bunch of Energy cards from your deck, feed the Lightning and Fighting Energy to Raging Bolt ex, and let the rest of your Benched Pokemon have the others.
If you’ve got some Grass Energy, you can give them to Ogerpon ex. Raging Bolt uses its Bellowing Thunder, and by sacrificing lots of Energy cards in the process, kaboom! You got yourself an early KO.
But here’s more–—with the help of Professor Sada’s Vitality and other assorted Trainer cards, you can get back the Energy cards you lost to give Raging Bolt ex another chance to attack. Rinse and repeat until you win.
However, two more decks managed to survive this deck’s destructive capabilities during the championships. And here they are…
2. Dragapult-Dusknoir
Justin Newdorf’s Decklist:
| Pokemon | Trainers | Energy |
|---|---|---|
| 4x Dreepy 4x Drakloak 3x Dragapult ex 2x Duskull 2x Dusclops 1x Dusknoir 2x Budew 1x Latias ex 1x Hawlucha 1x Fezandipiti ex 1x Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex 1x Munkidori | 4x Professor’s Research 4x Iono 2x Boss’s Orders 2x Hilda 4x Buddy-Buddy Poffin 4x Night Stretcher 4x Ultra Ball 3x Counter Catcher 1x Nest Ball 2x Jamming Tower | 3x Luminous Energy 2x Psychic Energy 1x Fire Energy 1x Neo Upper Energy |
Dragapult is definitely a close second if you rank all the cards that dominated the meta this year. Justin Newdorf’s deck is a great example of how well a Dragapult ex can perform in matches, and it’s evident that the best partner for this ghost dragon is the self-destructing Dusclops.
Dragapult ex decks are the most efficient damage spreaders in the game, and the winning condition usually depends on how skilled the player is in putting the right damage onto the Pokemon. When used perfectly, it can score multiple KOs in a single turn.
However, its greatest setbacks lie with the presence of specific cards in the rotation, which directly counter Dragapult ex’s Phantom Drive move, such as Lillie’s Clefairy ex, Mew ex, and Munkidori. Still, it’s apparent that the splash damage it makes has become one of the most feared mechanics in the meta.
1. Gardevoir
Riley McKay’s Decklist:
| Pokemon | Trainers | Energy |
|---|---|---|
| 3x Ralts 2x Kirlia 4x Munkidori 2x Gardevoir ex 1x Scream Tail 1x Fezandipiti ex 1x Flutter Mane 1x Lillie’s Clefairy ex 1x Mew ex | 4x Professor’s Research 4x Iono 2x Arven 4x Ultra Ball 3x Earthen Vessel 2x Rare Candy 2x Counter Catcher 2x Night Stretcher 2x Nest Ball 1x Super Rod 1x Secret Box 2x Technical Machine: Evolution 1x Technical Machine: Devolution 1x Bravery Charm 2x Artazon | 7x Psychic Energy 4x Darkness Energy |
The surge in Gardevoir ex decks at recent tournaments comes down to the latest set releases, which supercharged its ability and turned it into a powerhouse capable of taking down top dragon threats like Dragapult ex and Raging Bolt ex.
Gardevoir ex’s Psychic Embrace can be spammed with the help of Professor’s Research and Iono. With Munkidori, players can just transfer all the damage counters caused by Gardevoir ex’s ability to an opponent Pokemon.
However, during one of the Masters Division grand final matches, Mew ex proved it could also steal the spotlight when facing Dragapult ex. With Lillie’s Clefairy ex active, Mew ex can copy Dragapult’s powerful attack and turn it right back against the opponent, delivering the ultimate counterplay.
Final Thoughts
All the decks that made the top five during the 2025 Pokemon TCG World Championships highlighted the prowess of all the cards released during the Scarlet and Violet era. It’s also fun to watch and witness how the game evolved throughout the years without the need of breaking the traditional rules of the Pokemon TCG.
If you want to fully understand the mechanics of these top decks, try building them yourself, whether on tabletop or in Pokemon TCG Live. Playing with them firsthand is the best way to grasp their true strengths and weaknesses in battle.
In a few months, we might even see official Pokemon TCG products built around these decklists. So, if you want to try them without hunting down every single card, all you need is a little patience.
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