Sparks are Flying

If any of my early predictions were right for the “new” decks available from Surging Sparks, it would have had a yellow mouse wearing a crown as its own deck, and a certain “bridge” Pokémon nowhere close to the top 20 decks available - sometimes predictions aren’t everything. In this article, I will be going off of the opposite of guesses and hunches - I’m gonna be going off of results from online and major events alike! The decks featured in this article have all performed well at events, and are well positioned heading into future Surging Sparks legal events (considering Prismatic Evolutions is mainly a collector set - our current meta should be similar until our next major release in March 2025). I’ll be sharing the current top five best Surging Sparks Pokémon TCG decks, decklists, and more! Let’s jump into it!

5) Miraidon ex

Miraidon ex [Scarlet and Violet] isn’t a stranger to success, and has had many deep runs at events since the release of the card in the Scarlet and Violet base set. The goal of this deck is to fetch Lightning-type Pokémon out of the deck with Miraidon ex’s Ability, and load up Lightning Energy on those Pokémon with Electric Generator [Scarlet and Violet]. The big change to this deck, and what led it to win the Sacramento Regional Championships, is the inclusion of Pikachu ex [Surging Sparks]. It isn’t the star of the show, but allows the deck to have a stable Area Zero Underdepths [Stellar Crown] activator, and that means you can have a handful of support Pokémon on your bench to make this deck better than ever! The list featured is very similar to Landen Kaetler’s winning list, but I’ve added in a Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex [Twilight Masquerade] for the mirror match, and other aggressive decks. Let’s check out my list!

You can copy and paste the following list directly into PPokémon TCG Live.

Looking to match your Lightning-type deck with some yellow sleeves? Check out Ultimate Guard’s Katana Sleeves here.

4) Gholdengo ex

Gholdengo ex [Paradox Rift] has always been on the verge of being “meta”, but has maintained a “rogue-like” status among the Pokémon community. Until recently, I didn’t think that would change, but the inclusion of Togekiss [Surging Sparks] allows you to potentially draw additional Prize Cards throughout the game, and that might smooth over any issues this deck previously had against other aggressive decks or single Prize Card decks. The goal is to survive the first turn or so of Evolving, and pitch Energy with Gholdengo ex’s attack. The new Energy Search Pro [Surging Sparks] Ace Spec allows you to easily rip most of the Energy out of your deck off a single search, and means you can always get that first huge big attack - Superior Energy Retrieval [Paldea Evolved] will take care of the rest. After a few Regional Top Cuts, I’ve based my list off of some of the top performing lists around, so let’s check it out!

You can copy and paste the following list directly into Pokémon TCG Live.

3) Klawf Terapagos ex

In a surprising turn of events, Klawf [Paradox Rift] has become part of the “meta” and a lot of it has to do with the strength of the Terapagos ex [Stellar Crown] / Area Zero Underdepths combo. Being able to hit for larger amounts of damage due to Brute Bonnet [Paradox Rift] creating Poison damage, Radiant Hisuian Sneasler [Astral Radiance] increasing that damage, and Binding Mochi [Shrouded Fable] taking it to another level takes this archetype to another level. You have many different attacking options, and can hit for various high numbers due to Weakness, Poison damage, or even with sneaky return KOs with Pecharunt [Scarlet and Violet Promo]. Similar to the Miraidon ex deck, this archetype benefits from having multiple support Pokémon on your Bench, and the amount of combos are endless! Let’s check out my list that is based on Robin Schulz’ Top Cut list from Stuttgart.

You can copy and paste the following list directly into Pokémon TCG Live.

2) Charizard ex

Charizard ex [Obsidian Flames] has been one of the top performing decks in our format for well over a year now, and out of all of the decks on this list, it actually contains zero new cards from Surging Sparks? It’s also recently shot up in playability, so what gives? Well, the metagame has changed around it to allow it to be in a better position! With a strong matchup against decks like Miraidon ex, Raging Bolt ex [Twilight Masquerade], and even Roaring Moon ex [Paradox Rift] - Charizard ex seems to have it all! It did recently add in a copy of Cancelling Cologne [Astral Radiance] to help get around Pikachu ex (and some other annoying Pokémon), but otherwise is the same old build that has proven its success! Most Charizard lists are very similar nowadays, but I’ll share the version that I’ve been working on for months now! 

You can copy and paste the following list directly into Pokémon TCG Live.

If you’re looking for a deck box that matches the aesthetic of the Fire Energy in this deck, and the Darkness-type of Charizard ex - check out Ultimate Guard’s Red / Black Synergy Sidewinder here.

1) Regidrago VSTAR

Ever since the results of the 2024 North American International Championships concluded, players started testing the Regidrago VSTAR [Silver Tempest] deck that utilized the then new Teal Mask Ogerpon ex [Twilight Masquerade]. Taking a cue from Mewtwo & Mew-GX [Unified Minds] decks from the past, this deck can copy Pokémon from your discard pile, and that gives Regidrago VSTAR more options than any other deck in format! One of those new options is Alolan Exeggutor ex [Surging Sparks], and it might just give this deck a better shot against decks that primarily feature Basic Pokémon! We’ve already seen Regidrago VSTAR make Top Cut at most Surging Sparks legal Regionals, it’s quickly become the “play” from top players, and it is quite a skillful deck with a variety of options! I’ve personally played Regidrago VSTAR to Worlds where I had my win-and-in to Top 8 with the deck, so I’ll feature my latest list here!

You can copy and paste the following list directly into Pokémon TCG Live.

Time to Play

Our format has been solidified with many of the same decks since the release of Twilight Masquerade back in June 2024, so there aren’t too many changes to our current metagame. Some of the top performing decks have changed tech cards, have had variations in strategy, or have shifted their metagame positioning, but it’s more or less a similar meta to what it has been! What does that mean? We know what to expect! You can play any of these decks, or you can try to counter them with any of the other 25 or so viable decks in format! Our format has grown immensely, so I expect to see some decks shift from meta changes alone, and maybe Prismatic Evolutions will change the game more than I currently think it will! As for me, I’m preparing for upcoming majors in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom - I’m hoping to lock in my invitation to Worlds soon enough! As always, I'll be sure to keep you all updated with all of the upcoming changes to the metagame, deck lists, and more! 

Thanks for reading,

Zach Lesage