I think the competitive TCG side of the fanbase tends to be pretty separated from the more fandom-y side, but here goes!

With less than a month to go, how do you feel heading into the next rotation?

Gholdengo ex is the sorta newcomer to the scene, finally taking off during this past Worlds with the release of BLK/WHT giving the deck a huge boost after being seen as kind of a meme for years, even if it is ultimately unsurprising that a deck where your main attacker is also your draw engine (let alone when it draws that many cards and does that much damage.) Personally, while giving it Genesect ex and the Solrock/Lunatone package was one thing, I feel like reprinting Air Balloon was a bit too silly lol. Retreat Cost feels a little too trivialized in this format in addition to Latias ex existing (yes, I say this as someone that lived through Keldeo ex with Float Stone). While there is a lot that goes into piloting Gholdengo at a high level, it does feel like I don't think they should've made a deck that has a comparatively lower skill floor be this good.

Charizard ex has always had this sort of reputation of being the boogeyman of the format, especially to newer players. Yes, Infernal Reign is a great ability. Yes, Burning Darkness is a great attack. Yes, it has 330 HP. You always have to respect a Charizard on the field, but there's many ways to deal with it, such as its vulnerability to item lock, devolution angles, simply not taking KOs, etc. Its weakness to Dragapult ex has gatekept it for much of this year. That being said, maybe it's saying this of Dusknoir more than Charizard, but sheesh, the recent Seattle regionals finals was one of the most disgusting matches I've ever seen. I can't think of another recent streamed match where someone steamrolled and dominated to that extent. Sometimes Burning Darkness partnered by Quick Search is really all you need.

Which leaves us with the last all-star of this format: Gardevoir ex. Arguably, the strongest and most resilient deck of all time. Even when it was perceived at its weakest points in its three year life (Regidrao VSTAR's dominance, or after we lost Refinement Kirlia), the deck just always found a way. I can't believe people were saying the deck was going to die after F rotated. Hindsight is 20/20, but before then, I always begged of these people, have you ever read what Psychic Embrace does?! I picked up the deck at the start of this season. Went back and forth between playing Dragapult and Gardevoir for a bit (I did play Dragapult to a terrible finish at Pittsburgh), but for these past few months I've been all-in on exclusively playing Gardevoir. There's so much I could say about the deck that I'm not even sure what I should say. The skill ceiling is sky high and it feels like you always have an out in every game. I've been learning so, so much about the game from piloting this deck, being forced to think more critically about navigating out of bad spots, bench management being tighter than I've ever previously experienced, what can you do about board states even without your Gardevoir, and so much more. Needless to say, I'm going to miss it.

Which leaves Dragapult ex as the last survivor. Maaaybe Dusknoir was a mistake, let alone in a format that also has Counter Catcher in it. The deck isn't going anywhere, it's going to dominate especially with Gardevoir leaving. See you around for another year, old friend.

All in all, this is a strong contender for the most impactful rotation we've ever had. I've been playing for 10 years and I can't remember another rotation that just essentially deleted the entire meta over night. D block rotation was, well... We got rid of the broken Lugia VSTAR era, that was pretty much it. E block we lost Mew VMAX, which is absolutely one of the most infamous and notable decks of all time, but it still was just one deck (shoutout Rapid Strike too. I guess.). The only other huge card we lost was Path to the Peak. And of course Battle VIP Pass (which... was certainly A Card.), but that was mitigated by immediately getting Buddy-buddy Poffin upon rotation. F block rotation was definitely way more notable, with how we lost huge engine pieces in Rotom V and Lumineon V, packaged with Forest Seal Stone, Pokestop, and Radiant Greninja. We also lost Lugia VSTAR at last, the entire Lost Box engine (my all time favorite deck. RIP. 💔), and Block Snorlax.

Going into the new rotation last time, every deck felt so bad. This is looking to be even worse. I think the past year has had one of the most skill-intensive formats we've ever had, so needless to say I'm not super looking forward to a format where Mega Lucario is a top two deck. But it's not like I'm going to quit playing lol. I'm going to Orlando regionals, so one more last ride before rotation, then it's off to Los Angeles for the first NA event post-rotation!