The first week of A3 Celestial Guardians was a wild ride, as players tested out the new cards and explored fresh strategies. Tournament results were interesting to look over! Some hyped decks underperformed, cough…Solgaleo, while others surprised the community with strong and unexpected showings like Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex and Garchomp ex Rampardos.
After Solgaleo ex Skarmory’s disappointing performance last week, players went back to the drawing board to prepare for the next round of competition. This week, we’ll see how they used what they learned to adjust their strategies and which decks they now trust to perform in a serious tournament setting.
Today, we’re taking a look at Ursiiday’s Pocket Weekly #28, which had a showing of 941 players! This is an important tournament to gain information on the meta since next week, Ursiiday is planning a 10,000 USD tournament! You can register for it here!
The Data
Ursiiday #28 (941 players)
| Deck | No of Decks | Win Rate |
| Giratina ex Darkrai ex | 129 | 54.67% |
| Snorlax Greninja Giratina ex | 89 | 43.95% |
| Arceus ex Crobat | 87 | 52.71% |
| Garchomp ex Rampardos | 78 | 50.37% |
| Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex | 72 | ~53% |
| Charizard ex Incineroar ex | 53 | 42.34% |
| Solgaleo Skarmory | 35 | 46.25% |
| Decidueye ex Meowscarada | 31 | 47.82% |
| Tapu Bele Greninja Giratina ex | 27 | ~58% |
| Magnezone Oricorio | 24 | 46.46% |
| Lucario Rampardos | 20 | 50.46% |
| Lycanroc Rampardos | 14 | 43.75% |
| Other | 282 |
Top of the Meta
Looks like Darkrai ex Giratina ex took a little break and is back claiming its throne as the number 1 deck in the meta! After Solgaleo fumbled last week, many players went back to their comfort pick, and overall, it had a solid win rate! We did see Dark Tina as the 3rd most-played deck last week, but none of those players managed to break into the top 8, so we’ll see if things change this week!
We have multiple Greninja Giratina ex versions being played, the two most popular ones being the Snorlax and the Oricorio versions. Tapu Lele is the third most-played version, but it has a high win rate, keeping up with the top performers.
Snorlax Greninja Giratina ex saw an increase in play rate, going from the 4th most-played deck to the second most-played deck after winning first place last week! However, it seems players have figured out how to play against the deck, since the overall win rate dropped significantly this week.
As for the Greninja Giratina ex Oricorio version, it had a solid overall win rate, but players were divided on whether to run Shaymin or not. Fragran Flower Garden heals all your Pokémon for 10 damage, a great way to keep Oricorio in play for longer against Dakrai ex’s ping damage.
I talked last week about Arceus Crobat having one heck of a performance. Despite not making it into the top 8, the deck had an amazing overall win rate and finished in the top 16! Players took notice of the deck’s strength and pushed its play rate from the 8th most-played deck to the 3rd most-played!
The top 5 decks have an extremely close meta distribution, with each deck showing its own strengths and weaknesses.
Underdogs
Although Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex has low meta representation compared to its other variants, it holds the highest win rate among the top decks. The ability to snipe Pokémon with Tapu Lele is proving useful in the current meta, especially against Pokémon with high-cost attacks like Giratina ex.
Garchomp ex Rampardos made top 8 last week, and its play rate skyrockets in this tournament! Although it’s one of the top-played decks, it remains an off-meta choice that continues to perform decently and will likely still see play next week.
Rampardos Lucario is still hovering around a 50% win rate, remaining one of the strongest non-EX decks in the game.
Underperfomers
Massive upset by the Snorlax Greninja Giratina ex deck! More players picked up the deck after it won last week’s Ursiiday Pocket tournament, expecting to do well with it. However, its overall win rate dropped from 54.29% to 44%,
Fall Off
After last week’s awful performance, Solgaleo ex Skarmory’s popularity plummets. It remains one of the top 10 decks, but it still has an overall low win rate. Other players are pairing Solgaleo ex with Snorlax, but that version is also underperforming.
Although Charizard ex Incineroar ex and Oricorio Magnezone made the top 4 last week, they didn’t see a rise in play rate.
Top 64
| Giratina ex Darkrai ex | 17 |
| Arceus ex Crobat | 8 |
| Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex | 8 |
| Garchomp ex Rampardos | 6 |
| Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex | 6 |
| Decidueye ex Meowscarada | 3 |
| Solgaleo ex Skarmory | 2 |
| Charizard ex Incineroar ex | 2 |
| Magnezone Oricorio | 2 |
| Snorlax Greninja Giratina ex | 1 |
| Incineroar ex | 1 |
| Aerodactyl Rampardos | 1 |
| Lycanroc Rampardos | 1 |
| Solgaleo ex Kangaskhan | 1 |
| Beedrill ex Beedrill | 1 |
| Lunala ex Greninja ex | 1 |
| Banette Mewtwo ex | 1 |
| Arceus ex Giratina ex | 1 |
| Banette Mew ex | 1 |
- Darkrai ex Giratina ex proves again why it’s the best deck in the format, taking first place in the top 64 with 17 spots! The deck has a consistent game plan, making it a great choice to make top cut in tournaments with the least risky games
- Arceus ex Crobat is performing for the second week in a row, claiming 8 spots in the top 64! All the top lists include Carnivine as an aggressive attacker, especially since it can 2-shot a Darkrai ex.
- Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex is matching Arcues ex Crobat, showcasing a versatile meta where completely different decks are capable of going far in major tournaments.
- Garchomp ex Rampardos and Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex take 6 spots each! Last week, we only had 1 Garchomp ex Rampardos in top 64, and it continued on that momentum and brought 5 more decks to the top 64. With Arceus and Crobat being weak to Fighting Pokemon, you’re able to one-shot their Pokemon to steal the wins.
- Although Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex had a low play rate compared to the other Greninja Giratina ex versions, it performed quite well, even outperforming the Snorlax version!
- Extremely awful performance by Snorlax Greninja Giratina ex. It won first place last week, and it’s the second most-played deck in this tournament, but only 1 player managed to make the top 64. Although the deck had a great performance last week, players have figured out how to beat it, bringing decks that can combat it.
- Magnezone Oricorio made second place last week, but didn’t see a rise in play rate, and only 2 players are in the top 64.
- Off-meta decks like Aerodactyl Rampardos, Beedrill ex Beedrill, Banette Mewtwo ex, Banette Mew ex, and Lycanroc Rampardos made it into the top 64.
Top 8
| Giratina ex Darkrai ex | 2 |
| Arceus ex Crobat Carnivine | 2 |
| Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex | 2 |
| Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex | 2 |
- A diverse top 8 with four different decks taking 2 spots each!
- Giratina ex Darkrai ex has 17 decks in the top 64, so they had the highest odds of making it into the top 8. However, everyone is now on even ground!
- Arceus ex Crobat Carnivine makes it into the top 8 this week! It was unfortunate that last week, none of the Arceus ex Crobat players managed to push past the top 16, but this time around, we’re seeing the deck go for and perform even better.
- Two Greninja Giratina ex versions are in the top 8, and no, Snorlax isn’t here. Oricorio continues a solid performance, taking 2 spots in the top 8. However, the Tapu Lele surprised everyone in this tournament, having probably the best performance in this tournament and rivaling the top meta decks to take two spots in the top 8.
Top 4
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place |
| Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex | Arceus ex Crobat Carnivine | Darkrai ex Giratina ex | Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex |
- What an amazing tournament with all four decks moving into the top 4 and battling it out for first place!
- Darkrai ex Giratina ex went head to head against the Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex. The Lele version surprised everyone this weekend, with many players going wide, and it even beat Darkrai ex Giratina ex in the top 4.
- Arceus ex Crobat Carnivine beat Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex in the top 4.
- Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex beats Arceus ex Crobat Carnivine, having an insane run and crushing it this weekend.
Top Decks
1st Place Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex
The Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex has multiple attack options to push damage and get knockouts. Greninja deals passive damage with its Water Shuriken, weakening the opponent’s Pokémon. As for Tapu Lele’s Energy Arrow, it can target any Pokémon on the opponent’s side, so Benched Pokémon are not safe! You can only damage Pokémon with Energy attached to them, dealing 20 damage for each Energy attached. So, if your opponent has a Pokémon with multiple Energy attached to it, the Tapu Lele damage stacks and can potentially get you a knock-out, especially with Water Shuriken’s backup damage.
Giratina ex is the late-game win condition, capable of dealing 130 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon to try and one-shot a 150 HP Pokémon with Water Shuriken, giving you the push to win the game.
2nd Place Arceus Crobat Carnivine
The Arceus ex Crobat Carnivine version was the best performer in the Ursii tournament! Arceus ex enables Crobat and Carnivine’s ability Links to get the most out of them.
Carnivine is an early attacker, dealing 20 damage with its Vine Whip, but becomes a 50 damage attack if Arceus ex is in play, thanks to the Power Link. You’ll also have Crobat’s Cunning Link to deal 30 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon, perfect to back up your attacker and knock out a higher HP Pokémon.
Arceus ex can’t be affected by special condition effects, which can be useful in the current meta. Ultimate Force is your strongest attack, dealing 70 damage and an additional 20 damage for each of your benched Pokémon, so at max, you can deal 130 damage.
With the popularity of Darkrai ex decks, Carnivine was a solid choice to two-shot with Vine Whip.
Top 4 Darkrai ex Giratina ex
Darkrai ex Giratina ex is one of the most consistent decks in the A3 meta, using Darkrai ex for its Nightmare Aura to ping the opponent’s Active Pokemon for 20 damage every time you attach a Darkness Energy to your Darkrai ex. It can then become an attacker, pushing 80 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon with Dark Prism.
As you’re attaching Energy to Darkrai ex, you’ll be ramping Psychic Energy with Giratina ex’s Broken-Space Below, trying to get to 3 Psychic Energy before attaching a Darkness Energy and going for the attack. Giratina ex’s Chaotic Impact deals 130 damage, so it’s the heavy attacker in this list. On the downside, Giratina ex will deal 20 damage back to itself, putting it down to 130 HP, more vulnerable to the opponent’s upcoming turn.
Red can be a lifesaver in this list, allowing you to set up a one-shot turn to remove an opponent’s win condition or potentially win the game on the spot.
Top 4 Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex
This deck cuts out Snorlax ex for the Oricorio win condition, using it to stall the game while pushing 50 damage with its Zzzap attack. It has Greninja to deal back-up damage with Water Shuriken, pushing 20 damage to one of the opponent’s Pokémon, which can snipe damaged Pokémon on the Bench.
This deck is running Water Energy alongside Lightning Energy, so you can attack with Greninja’s Mist Slash if you need the 60 damage. As for Giratina ex, it can self-ramp, so we’re not too worried about the Psychic Energy attachment. Additionally, we have Irida in the list that’ll heal all your Pokémon with a Water Energy attached to them for 40 damage, preventing the opposing player from securing their knockouts on the upcoming turn.
This list has Shaymin for its Fragran Flower Garden to heal all your Pokémon for 10 damage. This is a great ability to keep Oricorio in play for longer, preventing Pokémon like Darkrai ex from easily removing Oricorio with its ping damage.
Underdog Decks
Top 16 Garchomp ex Rampardos
This deck runs two Stage 2 Pokémon, so Rare Candy is a must for the strategy to work. Rampardos is your strongest attacker, dealing 130 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon with its Head Smash attack. However, the drawback is massive, as Rampardos will deal 50 damage to itself, falling to 100 HP, vulnerable to most attacks in the meta. Giant Cape will be crucial here to keep Rampardos from easily getting knocked out, and using Lillie to heal it for 60 damage and go for another attack.
Garchomp ex is another damage dealer, it’s a tankier Pokémon with an early Linear Attack to deal 50 damage to one of your opponent’s Pokémon. This means you can target the opponent’s Bench and snipe a low HP Pokémon. Dragon Claw has more of a punch, dealing 100 damage to secure a knockout on a higher HP Pokémon in the Active spot.
Top 16 Aerodactyl Rampardos
This fighting-type deck uses Lycanroc as an early attacker, dealing 50 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon with a potential to double that amount if your opponent’s Active Pokémon has higher HP than Lycanroc. Rampardos is the heavy hitter, dealing 130 damage with head smash, but dealing 50 damage back to itself.
Aerodactyl is the strongest Pokémon in this deck, using its Primeval Law to shut down opponents from evolving, which in the current meta, can be a massive game disruption if you play Aerodactyl early into the game. You can then go for the Land Crush to deal 80 damage and slowly take your win.
Top 64 Banette Mewtwo ex
This deck is trying to slow down opponents’ strategy, preventing them from attaching Energy to their Active Pokémon through Banette’s Night Bind. You can also discard their Energy with Team Rocket Grunt, potentially stopping them from attacking on their upcoming turn.
Oricorio can go for a heavy attack, dealing 80 damage if your Pokémon was knocked out by damage from an attack on the previous turn. As for Tapu Lele, she will punish your opponent for attaching Energy, dealing 20 damage for each Energy attached, usually a great answer for the Giratina ex.
Since all your Pokémon have low-cost attacks, you can spare Psychic Energy to Mewtwo ex and build it up as a late-game finisher.
Additional Meta Decks
Top 16 Oricorio Magnezone
The Oricorio Magnezone deck uses Oricorio as a staller, but potentially a win condition with its Zzzap attack. You’re not too worried about slowing down your Magnezone turn by attaching Lightning Energy to Oricorio since Magneton can self-ramp with Volt Charge, speeding up the Energy attachment so Magnezone can join in and go for the heavy Thunder Blast attack.
This is one deck that opts not to include the Rare Candy play since Magneton’s Volt Charge is too important to pass! This list is also running 2 Guzma to punish Tool users, especially if they have two Tools played at once. However, it’s mainly used to protect your Oricorio from a Rocky Helmet or Poison Barb.
Top 32 Incineroar ex Charizard ex
Incineroar ex Charizard ex is currently the strongest Fire-type deck out there. It uses Rare Candy to speed up the evolution of Incineroar ex and Charizard ex, and have a win condition online as early as possible. Incineroar ex deals 30 damage with its Fire Fang attack, but you can later go for a heavier swing with Scar-Charged Smash, dealing 80 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon. If Incineroar ex is damaged, Scar-Charged Smash will deal 140 damage instead.
Charizard ex is the power-house in this deck, using its Stoke to ramp Fire Energy and set up for Steam Artillery to deal 150 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokemon.
Top 32 Solgaleo ex Skarmory
This deck relies on Skarmory as an early attacker, dealing 50 damage with Metal Arms if you have a Took attached to Skarmory. In the meantime, you’ll be working on evolving into your Stage 2 Solgaleo ex to carry the game, and with Rare Candy in the list, you can skip the Stage 1 evolution to have Solgaleo ex in play a turn earlier.
Solgaleo ex needs two Metal Energy to activate its Sol Breaker attack, dealing 120 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon and 10 damage to itself. Being a 180 HP Pokémon means we’re not too worried about taking the 10 damage, but against the Charizard ex deck, things can be awkward since falling to 170 HP puts us in range of Charizard ex’s Steam Artillery (Solgaleo’s weakness is Fire decks).
Solgaleo ex’s Rising Road ability lets you move it from the Bench to the Active spot without having to discard any Energy from your Active Pokémon. It’s not too useful when swapping with a Skarmory, but in other versions like Solgaleo ex Snorlax, it can be more useful to avoid the 4 retreat cost on Snorlax.
Closing Words
We had amazing games in this tournament, and with Snorlax underperforming despite being a preferred pick, it signals that we’re still in an unsolved meta. The Tapu Lele having an amazing run, also showcases that there are still different decks and builds that can still surprise us in the early A3 meta.
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