The $40 deck that beat 2,927 players
The reigning Pokémon world champion just won a 2,927-player Regional without losing a round. His exact 60 costs about what a booster box does.
The $40 deck that beat 2,927 players
Riley McKay is the reigning Pokémon TCG World Champion, and he just reminded everyone why. The Canadian star won the Louisville Regional Championships on October 11, playing Dragapult ex through a Masters field of 2,927 players. He finished the weekend at 15 wins and 3 draws. Nobody beat him.
The field bent toward him all weekend. Dragapult builds made up 34 percent of Day 2, and half of the Top 8 played some version of the deck. McKay beat fellow finalist Austin Charles, who paired Dragapult with Blaziken, in the final. Per PTCG News, Limitless TCG groups identical lists together, and 30 players in Louisville ran McKay's exact 60.
And here is the part that should make every budget builder smile. That exact list prices at $37.91 on Limitless TCG. In their October 13 report, TCGJoin priced it at about 35 euros using Cardmarket reference prices. The winning deck of one of the year's biggest Regionals costs less than a booster box.
The 60 itself is beautifully stock. Four Dreepy and four Drakloak evolve up into a full line of Dragapult ex. Two Munkidori shuffle damage around the board. The support line runs two Budew alongside Dunsparce and Dudunsparce. One Meowth ex and one Fezandipiti ex round out the Pokémon.
Four Crushing Hammer and a single Unfair Stamp provide the disruption. Four copies of Lillie's Determination and three Boss's Orders steer the early game. Two Risky Ruins wait in the wings for the late push. The Energy line is simple: three each of Fire, Psychic, and Darkness.
What the weekend really proved is that the pilot matters more than the price tag. McKay won Worlds in Anaheim last August with Gardevoir ex, a completely different deck, then turned around and won a near-3,000-player Regional with the cheapest top-tier list in the format. The meta also punished anyone living in the past: N's Zoroark, the second-most-played deck at Recife the week before, managed 6 percent of Day 2 in Louisville and put nobody in the Top 16.
Card scan via GachaIRL
What it means for the rest of us is simple. The stock list is public, more than thirty players ran the exact 60 across Louisville and Frankfurt, and the priciest single in the deck is Unfair Stamp. The foil Meowth ex that both finalists played comes in Pokémon's $9.99 Deck Crafter's Collection, out tomorrow with 39 Trainer staples and a Pitch Black pack. Two key cards, one box, less than ten bucks.
League night is Wednesdays from 6 to 8. Bring the list, or bring whatever you have. The best deck in the format costs less than a booster box, and the tables are open.
Cover image: Dragapult ex, the dragon launching Dreepy from the horns on its head. Card scan via Wargamer
ADVERTISEMENT
