Week 2 of Wisdom and Sea and Sky has finally ended and we will see what is happening. Ursiiday's weekly tournament was postponed this week so we will look at the second largest tournament instead. The Magma $51 King of the Hill × $10K Cup featuring 327 players so it is still a large tournamentand it is a king of the hill format or single elimination round until the finals so it is pretty much high stakes. We will get into it!

Deck Distribution

If you've been following the meta, especially if you read the last one, this isn't much of a surprise — but there are still some huge changes. A3a-006 A3a-007 dropped from its top spot, and A2-110 A2b-035 is now the king. The biggest change is A4-083 A3b-034 becoming the second most played deck, probably also now that people have learned the deck and/or acquired the cards. A3b-009 A2a-010 is still quite popular due to its good matchups through most of the field. A3a-043 A3a-045 has risen from its spot last week, with more and more people using the deck again. A3-066 players have consolidated into A1-089 A3-066 and A2a-071 A3a-019. There has also been an increasing number of A2b-010 A3b-034 and A3b-057 A4-034, with A1-089 A3b-034 and A4-109 A3b-034 toward the bottom.

Top Cut

• Do note that this was a smaller player tournament, so conversion rates are naturally larger than usual.
• A3a-043 A3a-045 is still our top performer at 62.50% (10 out of 16), reinforcing its status as a sleeper that keeps proving its worth in high-pressure brackets.
• A4-083 A3b-034 follows closely with a 59.46% cut rate (22 out of 37 players), holding on to 2nd place just like last week.
• A3b-009 A2a-010 also impressed with a 58.82% rate (10 out of 17), proving last week’s performance was no fluke.
• A3b-057 A4-034 converted at 54.55% (6 out of 11), an impressive showing for a deck not widely regarded as top tier.
• A3a-061 A3-066 had exactly half its players advance, at 46.67% (7 out of 15).
• A2b-035 A2-110, despite being the most played, still posted a solid 45.45% (25 out of 55), high for a deck with such massive representation.
• In contrast, A3a-006 A3a-007 saw only 34.78% (8 out of 23) of its pilots make the cut, an underwhelming result compared to last week.

Top 4 Decks

Tournament	First Place	Second Place	Third Place	Fourth Place
Magma $51 King of the Hill	Espeon ex Sylveon ex	Silvally Oricorio	Charizard ex Sylveon ex	Darkrai ex Giratina ex

• Champion – A4-083 A3b-034 - This is King of the Hill format, so the deck went undefeated until the end. It faced mostly top meta decks from Round 4 onward, including A1-089 A3b-034, A2-110 A2b-035, and A3a-006 A3a-007.
• 2nd Place – A3a-061 A3-066 - Now running A4-066 over A3a-021, proving slightly better than its old counterpart. It had an impressive run fighting meta decks right from the start, including A2-110 A2b-035 in the first round, and only lost to the champion.
• 3rd Place – A2b-010 A3b-034 - Made a resurgence this tournament, defeating two A2-110 A2b-035 lists and two A4-134 A3b-009 lists before falling to A3a-061 A3-066.
• 4th Place – A2-110 A2b-035 - Somewhat surprising to see it finish only 4th given its popularity. Notably, it lost to the champion — a matchup it’s often expected to dominate.

Espeon ex Sylveon ex – 1st Place

The winner in this tournament is finally A4-083 A3b-034. It uses the standard shell for now, which you can see in my guide here as well to check out more, and features both A3b-033 and A3b-028. A3b-028 is definitely a standard in tournaments now due to a large A2-110 A2b-035 representation.

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Silvally Oricorio - 2nd Place

The new A3a-061 A3-066 with A4-066 is definitely making up to be the new standard with its 2nd place finish. The list is already featuring the standard set of Supporters, but what’s becoming the norm is the addition of A3-151. This makes it harder for A2-110 A2b-035 to do damage, so this card becoming more common is definitely something we will see moving forward for these A3-066 decks.

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Charizard ex Sylveon ex – 3rd Place

A2b-010 A3b-034 took third place, but there have been major changes to this one from our last set. It’s now featuring A3b-009 instead of non-EX Flareon, so if you do face A3-066 you’re pretty much donezo. It also makes your deck consistent at least on staggering a threat after a Charizard start. Addition of A2b-071 is also something mandatory with the introduction of A4-109 A3b-034, since that is one of the deck’s hardest matchups and something you should consider.

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Darkrai ex Giratina ex - 4th place

A2-110 A2b-035 took 4th place. The list is fairly standard, but one eye-raising change is the omission of A4-158. I still believe A4-158 is what makes Darkrai–Giratina especially oppressive, as it allows you to heavily control your opponent’s hand when paired with PROMO-006 and A2-155. The list does run A2b-071 and A1-225, so it has all the Supporters it needs, but in my opinion, A4-158 brings more value here than in any other Silver build.

Ho-oh ex Lugia ex - 8th place

While most of the top 8 used standard lists, A4-034 A4-149 had an impressive showing for a deck that isn’t often placed among the top meta contenders. The list follows the default Ho-Oh–Lugia structure, running two A4-066 as early energy generators, enabling A4-034 or A2a-071 to attack as early as turn 2 when going second. A3a-021 acts as an additional energy generator, with A4-151 transferring energy to Ho-Oh or Arceus, and can even step in as an attacker when going first. Ho-Oh primarily fuels Lugia or Arceus, which handle the heavy hitting.

The deck’s power ceiling is high, but inconsistency remains its biggest weakness—starting with Ho-Oh still means needing three energy without attacking, which is slow in the current meta. The inclusion of two A1a-068 at least make sure that you can retreat if you have Pichu in the board as well.

Best Decks for Ranked

We’re finally tackling the best decks for Ranked, though there hasn’t been a huge meta shift compared to past expansions. What we do have is a wide variety of decks that can compete, at least at the top level. Most of the leading archetypes are simply being refined into their most optimal versions. While these lists may not be fully finalized, we’re definitely starting to see what the “standard” versions look like.

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Espeon ex Sylveon ex

A4-083 A3b-034 is now definitely regarded as either the no. 1 or no. 2 best deck in the format, with A2-110 A2b-035 as its main contender. It sported a 64% win rate in the tournament. I strongly advocate running both A3b-028 and A3b-033 in the same deck, especially if you’re in the higher ranks or in Masterball. This is the most proven list so far, especially in terms of tournament performance. Some players dislike A4-158, but I’m a huge fan of it; alternatively, you can run another A3b-066 or A2-147.
Recently made a guide here so check that out if you want to see the deck.

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Darkrai ex Giratina ex

And of course, A2-110 A2b-035 is still here, if not the best deck in the format. It had a 54% win rate in this event. The list is already mostly standard, with some players choosing between A2b-071 or A1-225. I personally prefer A1-225 for the extra flexibility, since Darkrai can already deal the extra damage you’d normally get from A2b-071.

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Buzzwole ex Pheromosa

A3a-006 A3a-007, while still popular after its resurgence last week, saw a major drop-off this week mainly due to its atrocious matchup against A4-083 A3b-034. It still posted a 54% win rate in the tournament. While it can still be worth bringing since A2-110 A2b-035 remains one of the most played decks, the rising numbers of A4-083 A3b-034 may make it a riskier pick for some players. I do recommend adding Rocky Helmet this time so that you can one shot Espeon ex especially if they don't run Giant Cape and if they do, you can always use Guzma.

If you want a refresher on how this deck works, you can check out the guide here.

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Leafeon ex Flareon ex Sylveon ex

While not in the top 3 contention for the best decks, A2a-010 A3b-009 A3b-034 is definitely in the top 5. Its results have been very good, posting a 51% win rate in the tournament. It has a strong matchup into A3a-006 A3a-007 and a decent matchup into A4-083 A3b-034 or A2-110 A2b-035, making it a safe pick as long as A2b-010 A3b-034 is out of the way.

If you’re new to the deck, check out the full guide to get started.

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Silvally Oricorio

A3a-061 A3-066, while still strong, is starting to suffer as time goes on due to how one of the top decks — A4-083 A3b-034 — handles Oricorio so well. It can heal consistently and has natural answers like A3b-033. The addition of A4-066 is still powerful, allowing a Silvally or Oricorio to attack by turn 2. However, Oricorio may have to adapt further to beat one of its hardest matchups, which I will tackle later.

If you prefer the older A3a-021 build, that still works too, as covered in this guide.

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Guzzlord Naganadel

A3a-043 A3a-045 performed very well in the tournament with a 67% win rate, finishing in 7th place. The double A3a-045 line with one A3a-062 has become the standard list.

I previously covered a A3a-042-focused version of this deck, which serves as a solid introduction to the strategy and helps bridge into this more A3a-045-oriented variation. You can check the guide here.

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Arceus ex Oricorio

While A2a-071 A3-066 is doing decently, this version is just way better — and I’ll be making a guide for it next. It outperforms the standard A2a-071 A3a-019 due to how A4-066 accelerates the Arceus gameplan even more. Arceus also serves as a stronger win condition than Tapu Koko in most cases, letting you one-shot A4-083 with A1-223, which is one of its main advantages over A3a-061 builds. Stay tuned for the full guide!

Crobat ex Sylveon ex

I think A4-109 A3b-034 deserves a mention since it’s one of the only decks that can deal with A4-083 A3b-034. Crobat’s HP and high poison damage can be tough for Espeon to manage, and A2-110 pushes the damage further, making the heal less relevant. If you’re facing a lot of Espeon–Sylveon, you can go a ride with this deck. You still need A3-144 most of the time to make the deck work. Full guide available for those wanting to experiment with the build here.

Greninja Sylveon ex

While not as good since A4-083 A3b-034 can just heal Greninja pings, it can still be a decent deck to run that can face any matchup outside of Espeon—so if you’re not seeing that deck much, you can give it a spin. To understand how the deck plays, you can check out here.

Charizard ex Sylveon ex

A2b-010 A3b-034 is making a comeback due to the rise of A3a-006 and the falling out of A3-066. I still think you need non-EX Flareon to deal with the occasional Oricorio. It might be one of the weaker decks here due to hard matchups like Crobat, Oricorio, and A4-083 A3b-034 (especially with non-EX Espeon around). To understand how the deck plays, you can check out here.

Final Thoughts

This week reinforces that we’re in a refinement phase—A4-083 A3b-034 and A2-110 A2b-035 remain the decks to beat, but rising contenders like A3a-043 A3a-045 and A3b-009 A2a-010 A3b-034 keep things fresh. Small tech changes are making the difference in tight matchups, so smart adaptations will be key going forward.