Legal Sets
Official Rules
- •60-card decks exactly
- •Maximum 4 copies of any card with the same name (Basic Energy exempt)
- •Must include at least 1 Basic Pokémon
- •First player cannot attack on Turn 1
- •TAG TEAM GX Pokémon give up 3 Prize cards when knocked out
- •GX attack usable once per game
- •Prism Star cards limited to 1 per deck
- •All BREAKthrough and earlier XY cards rotated out — no more VS Seeker, Float Stone
- •Welder became the most important Supporter
- •Custom Catcher (pair) provides guaranteed gust
- •2019 World Championship in Washington, D.C. — Brand wins with Perfection
Format Overview
Standard 2019 was the TAG TEAM era — massive multi-Pokémon GX cards worth 3 prizes that hit harder than anything before. Reshiram & Charizard-GX could deal 300 damage with Double Blaze GX. Pikachu & Zekrom-GX's Full Blitz accelerated energy while attacking. And Mewtwo & Mew-GX's Perfection Ability copied any GX attack from the bench or discard, creating the ultimate toolbox deck.
The format was dominated by Fire. Welder from Unbroken Bonds was the single most important Supporter — attaching 2 Fire Energy from hand AND drawing 3 cards in one action. Six of the eight Worlds Top 8 decks ran Fire Energy and Welder. Reset Stamp from Unified Minds provided late-game hand disruption, replacing the rotated N. Custom Catcher (requiring a pair of 2 for a guaranteed gust effect) competed with Guzma.
Henry Brand won the 2019 World Championship with 'Perfection' — his Mewtwo & Mew-GX build that copied attacks from discarded GX Pokémon like Reshiram & Charizard-GX, Espeon & Deoxys-GX, and Solgaleo-GX. Shintaro Ito finished 2nd with Blacephalon-GX (his second consecutive Worlds finals). The most creative entry was Isaiah Williams's Pidgeotto Control — a resource-denial deck with no traditional attackers that made Top 8.
Key Cards
Top Decks (10)
Perfection (Mewtwo & Mew-GX)
1st Place — 2019 World Championship (Masters)
Mewtwo & Mew-GX's Perfection Ability copies any GX attack from bench or discard. Welder accelerates Fire Energy. Toolbox of discarded GX (ReshiZard, Espeon & Deoxys, Solgaleo, Latios) provides attack flexibility. Brand beat Ito's Blacephalon in the finals.
Mind Blown (Blacephalon-GX/Naganadel)
2nd Place — 2019 World Championship (Masters)
Blacephalon-GX's Mind Blown discards Fire Energy for 50 damage each. Naganadel's Charging Up recovers Fire from discard. Beast Ring provides mid-game energy surge. Heatran-GX collects energy from other Pokémon. Second consecutive Worlds finals for Ito.
Green's ReshiZard
3rd Place — 2019 World Championship (Masters)
Zero Ability Pokémon enables Green's Exploration to search 2 Trainers. Volcanion's Flare Starter accelerates turn-1 energy. ReshiZard's 270 HP with healing (Mixed Herbs, Great Potion) is nearly impossible to OHKO. Power Plant disrupts GX-heavy opponents.
ReshiZard Fire Box (Ninetales)
4th Place — 2019 World Championship (Masters)
Ability-based ReshiZard with Ninetales's Nine Temptations gust on evolution. Jirachi provides Stellar Wish search. Super Scoop Up reuses Abilities. 18 Fire Energy for extreme consistency. Heatran-GX and Turtonator provide additional attackers.
PikaRom (Pikachu & Zekrom-GX)
5th Place — 2019 World Championship (Masters)
Pikachu & Zekrom-GX's Full Blitz accelerates energy while attacking. Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX paralyzes and spreads. Electropower boosts Lightning damage by 30 each. Thunder Mountain ◇ reduces attack costs. Zeraora-GX gives free retreat.
Green's ReshiZard (Vilchez variant)
6th Place — 2019 World Championship (Masters)
Second Green's ReshiZard with Hoopa as a single-prize GX wall. 2 Reset Stamp for stronger late-game disruption. Choice Helmet reduces damage. 2 Power Plant for GX Ability denial. More disruptive than Hill's healing-focused build.
Mewtwo & Mew-GX (Ishiyama variant)
7th Place — 2019 World Championship (Masters)
Heavier Fire energy (16) with Hapu for aggressive draw. 2 Magcargo-GX for consistent Lava Flow damage. Oranguru provides Resource Management for late-game recovery. Lysandre Labs counters opponent Tools.
Pidgeotto Control
8th Place — 2019 World Championship (Masters)
The lone rogue — zero traditional attackers. Pidgeotto's Air Mail digs for resources. Oranguru's Resource Management loops cards infinitely. Crushing Hammer + Mars + Custom Catcher disrupt. Articuno-GX's Cold Crush GX discards all opponent energy. Wins by opponent deckout.
Dark Box (Weavile-GX)
Weavile-GX's Shadow Connection moves Darkness Energy freely. Naganadel's Charging Up accelerates from discard. Darkrai ◇ accelerates from deck. Multiple TAG TEAM attackers: Umbreon & Darkrai-GX, Mega Sableye & Tyranitar-GX, Greninja & Zoroark-GX. Hoopa-GX walls non-GX.
Malamar / Giratina / Spell Tag
Malamar's Psychic Recharge accelerates from discard each turn. Giratina's Distortion Door places itself from discard and puts damage counters on opponents. Spell Tag places 4 counters when KO'd. Espeon & Deoxys-GX's Cross Division GX redistributes all damage for multi-KOs. Single-prize trading machine.
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