With the release of the seventh expansion of Pokémon’s Mega Evolution, Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign, we are beginning to see a shift in the TCG meta. I’ve been playing competitively since 2022, and I have been patiently awaiting the release of this set. Outside of the highly sought-after Mega Rayquaza, there are many cards in this set that have a lot of upside and huge potential to break into the meta and shake things up.
What I love about the competitive Pokémon scene is that it’s not always about the flashy, expensive cards, but about cards that are easily obtainable and will not break the bank. I’m going to break down the five cards that I think will be used a lot during this rotation and why the community should keep an eye out for them.
Mega Rayquaza ex
The hero Pokémon of Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign, of course, had to be highly playable. Mega Rayquaza’s ability, “Champion’s Roar,” allows you to look at the top four cards of your deck and attach any basic energy you find to the Pokémon. A card like this would be great in an energy-accelerating deck. One of the only issues with this card is that it requires two types of energy for its attack, “Storm Emeralda,” which can sometimes be tricky to get off depending on your deck composition.
Zinnia’s Trust – Supporter
A good supporter card can be the difference between winning and losing a game. My favourite types of these cards are the ones that have multiple functions. Zinnia’s Trust is a card in Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign that not only allows you to switch your active Pokémon with one from your bench, but you’re also now able to take one energy card from the active Pokémon and attach it to the Pokémon being swapped out from the bench. This card acts as both the ever-popular Switch trainer as well as an energy switch. This might be one of the most supportive cards in this set.
Talonflame ex
This might be one of the best Pokémon ex cards in Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign because of how highly versatile it is. Its ability, “Excited Dive,” allows you to play the Pokémon from your hand onto the bench if you have a Mega Evolution Pokémon ex in play. Once active, its attack, “Claw Hunt,” lets you search your deck for two cards and put them into your hand. This works particularly well in most decks because this card can help you find your Stage 2 Pokémon as well as items like Rare Candies to help you set up your attacking phase much sooner.
Giratina
One of the most popular decks to play right now is Slowking, and this card would pair perfectly within the current meta for that deck. Slowking’s attack, “Seek Inspiration,” allows it to take a card from another Pokémon without a rule box (V, EX, VSTAR, etc.) and use it as its own attack. Giratina’s attack, “Chaos Crawler,” not only prevents damage done to the card during your opponent’s next turn, but you also cannot use this attack on your next turn. Merging this with the Slowking meta will make the deck’s attack power stronger and will change the way competitive players play against it.
Custom Vest – Pokémon Tool
I love a good Pokémon Tool, but this one is definitely an interesting one. This card reduces damage done to your Pokémon by 60 if your opponent is using a Mega Pokémon ex. Depending on the meta you’re using, this could work very well for you or not at all. I wanted to add it to this list because I think it’s very interesting and could have a lot of play coming into the next rotation of competitive play.
Honourable Mention – Pincurchin
We love and appreciate the little guy! This card might be one of the most underrated in Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign, and it’s not even close. Its attack, “Energy Crush,” does 20 times damage to all of your opponent’s Pokémon in play. This means that if you’re going up against someone using an energy-generating deck, Pincurchin could deal damage exceeding 280, which would one-shot many modern EX cards and more, depending on how many energy cards are in play. What I really love about this card is that its attack calls for colourless energy, which means it is perfect for any deck in the meta.
As time goes on, we will continue to see the meta of the competitive Pokémon TCG change, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. In its current state, the release of Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign is showing signs of a shift in how players will be competing, and I think that’s really exciting.
If you’ve ever been curious at all to learn how to play the Pokémon TCG but weren’t sure how to get started, I would highly recommend picking up a build-and-battle box from your local card shop, attending their weekly game nights, and hopefully you’ll find yourself having fun learning something new and becoming more familiar with how Pokémon cards are meant to be used.
- The Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign Elite Trainer Box includes 9 Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign booster packs, 1 full-art foil promo card featuring Kyogre, and 65 card sleeves.
- This also comes with 40 Pokémon TCG Energy cards, a player’s guide to the Mega Evolution—Delta Reign expansion, and 6 damage-counter dice.
- The Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign Booster Bundle contains six booster packs from the new Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign expansion.
- This is a great option for getting into the new Delta Reign expansion.
- The Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Delta Reign Booster Box contains 36 booster packs from the new Delta Reign expansion.
- The new Delta Reign expansions has over 140 cards for you to collect including more new Mega Evolution Pokémon ex and more than a dozen Trainer cards, including three new Legendary Stadiums.
