Welcome back, Cut or Tap readers! Worlds is coming up in just a couple weeks and I have been doing a ton of preparation for this tournament. Whether you’re a fellow Worlds competitor or just looking to get a head start on your locals for the 2026 season, there’s something here for you.
Black Bolt and White Flare just recently released on Pokemon TCG Live, so players in the west have had their first chances to explore the format we will be playing in at the World Championships. Azul Garcia Griego ran an invitational tournament featuring eight of the world’s best players, and Gholdengo ex ended up taking 1st and 2nd place. In addition to this, Gholdengo dominated the Tournament of Doom Best-of-3 tournament, boasting a near 60% win rate and taking nine of the top 16 placements. Of course these are online tournament results, so they shouldn’t be taken as seriously as if they were results from a Regional Championships, but they can still be used to get a good idea of where players’ heads are at. It seems Gholdengo has quickly made its way to the top of the format when combined with the consistency of Genesect ex. Keeping this in mind, it is seeming important to take a favored (or at the very least even) Gholdengo matchup at Worlds this year.
As a long-time Gholdengo player, Raging Bolt ex has consistently been one of the deck’s scariest matchups. Being able to use Noctowl’s Jewel Seeker to find Judge and a Stadium card and then attack for a KO using Fan Rotom’s Assault Landing puts the Gholdengo player in a very rough position. To keep up with the prize trade, Gholdengo will need a Counter Catcher and Energy Search Pro alongside a Gholdengo ex so they can take two prize cards on the following turn. With only four cards in hand and no two-prize Pokemon already in play, accomplishing this can be extremely difficult. The reason I specify that they didn’t have any two-prize Pokemon (Genesect ex) already in play is because if they did, you could simply win the prize trade by using Prime Catcher and Crispin or Professor Sada’s Vitality to take a KO with Raging Bolt ex.
With a good matchup into Gholdengo, the deck that seems to be at the front of competitors’ minds at the moment, Raging Bolt is shaping up to be a strong choice for Worlds. Another advantage to Raging Bolt is the deck’s ability to play three games in 50 minutes fairly easily. Since Raging Bolt attacks and takes prize cards fast, the deck is able to close out most sets without tying or having to resolve a gentleman’s agreement. This is always a good attribute for a deck to have, since it is typically better to shoot for a record of “X” amount of wins and two losses than to tie too much early and not be able to lose at all later on. While Worlds is looking to be 11 rounds with an 8-1-2 Cut, it is still nice to avoid ties early on to provide yourself extra flexibility for IDs or the possibility to skip Asymmetrical Top Cut later on in the tournament.
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