Top 5 Journey Together Decks for Pokémon

Journey Together

Welcome to our Post Rotation format! Say goodbye to VSTAR Pokémon, yellow border cards, and some of the most iconic decks of all time, like Lugia VSTAR [Silver Tempest]. It isn’t news that Pokémon ex are here for a while since they were reintroduced in Scarlet and Violet, Journey Together does reintroduce Trainer’s Pokémon - something we haven’t seen for a long time. It also kicks off our new rotation, where we feature cards from Scarlet and Violet on, and shed anything before that - drastically changing up our metagame! In this article, I’ll be sharing my personal top 5 decks in this format, lists, and a brief strategy for each! Sounds like a plan? Well, it should! I’ve been testing this format for over a month now, and I’m hyped to share my findings with you! Let’s jump into my number 5 pick!

5) Archaludon ex / Poison Deck

Archaludon ex [Surging Sparks] has been one of the top played decks for a while now, but our rotation has completely changed the way the deck is designed! It went from being an aggressive tanky deck to running off of a Poison engine, similar to Klawf [Paradox Rift] before rotation! Being able to increase your damage output is crucial to OHKO popular Pokémon, like Gholdengo ex [Paradox Rift], and the Poison helps you get around format mainstays, like Pikachu ex [Surging Sparks]. The cool “new” factor is being able to win on your first turn, before your opponent even gets to draw a card, with Pecharunt [Scarlet and Violet Promo]! Since it isn’t an attack, you can use Brute Bonnet [Paradox Rift] and Pecharunt to OHKO any small HP Pokémon you like - talk about a vicious way to start the game! Let’s check out my list here:

Looking to match the deck with some sleeves that match the “Poison” package of this deck? Check out these Radiant Plum Katana Sleeves here.

4) Charizard ex / Noctowl Deck

If you’ve been playing the Pokémon TCG for a little bit, Charizard ex [Obsidian Flames] has been a top performing deck for almost two years now! What has changed? Well, due to changes in the metagame (and rotation), Charizard ex has switched to a Noctowl [Stellar Crown] engine to search out whatever it needs, and don’t worry, Pidgeot ex [Obsidian Flames] is still included in here too! Having Terapagos ex [Stellar Crown] as an early Tera Pokémon activator for Noctowl and backup attacker works great! With the power of Charizard ex, and the well refined Noctowl Tera engine, this deck should shine in our early metagame! Let’s check out my list!

3) Raging Bolt ex / Noctowl Deck

Raging Bolt ex [Temporal Forces] is back (did it leave?) and is also running the Noctowl engine like almost every deck in the format. It makes sense! With most decks running Area Zero Underdepths [Stellar Crown] now, having access to benching up to 8 Pokémon is a huge asset for this deck! Want more energy? Teal Mask Ogerpon [Twilight Masquerade] can load up extra energy without taking up the usual bench spot (we have extra spots now, and can bench whatever we want now). Same thing with having a Fezandipiti ex [Shrouded Fable] and Latias ex [Surging Sparks] on the bench, we have the space now. It might be tough for some to lose Pokéstop [Pokémon Go], but I like the Noctowl Tera engine much more than previous builds of the deck - let’s check out my list here:

Match your Katana Sleeves with the Grass Energy featured in this deck - check out the Jade Garden Katana Sleeves here.

2) Tera Box Deck

Tera Box has been popping off ever since it took a few spots at the Champion’s League in Japan about a month ago. It consists of a handful of different Tera Pokémon, like Teal Mask Ogerpon ex, and Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex [Twilight Masquerade], powers up Pokémon with Crispin [Stellar Crown], and boasts powerful attacks that can swing a game in a pinch. It's all tied together with.. you guessed it - a Noctowl Tera engine! With many trying this deck out early, lists are already refined for upcoming major events, and the deck is quite skill based compared to most! If it wasn’t so “new”, it would likely be the best deck on this list, but that spot is reserved for the deck that has been carrying the past few formats… we’ll get there in just a minute. Let’s check out my list for Tera Box here:

1) Dragapult ex / Dusknoir Deck

Dragapult ex [Twilight Masquerade] has been a centerpiece of our format for a while now - mainly being featured in Regidrago VSTAR [Silver Tempest] decks as an optional attacker, but also being a full-fledged deck for months now! This build focuses on using Drakloak [Twilight Masquerade] as a draw engine, and then spreading damage with Dragapult ex and Dusknoir [Shrouded Fable] to your heart's desire! Pairing it with strong disruption cards gives this deck a late game advantage that can cause most other decks to crumble - this is clearly the best deck in our early Journey Together format! Let’s check out my latest list!

Check out the Poppy Topaz Katana Sleeves that really make the Dragon Pokémon featured in this deck “pop”. Learn more about them here.

Time to Journey

With all of these new, and refreshed decks to choose from, you’ll have plenty of decks to test! Our format is fresh, exciting, and there are so many tournaments coming up soon! I’m planning on attending the Monterrey Regional Championships in April, and of course there are many events happening around the globe! I might even play one of the decks on this list - I’m sure I’ll tell you all about it! Stay tuned for more articles from me on Ultimate Guard, and have fun on your next Pokémon journey!