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Every year, thousands of Pokemon TCG players compete to earn points towards an invitation to the prestigious World Championships. This challenging journey takes players through countless events, from small local tournaments to the fiercest competitions on the world stage: and it all leads up to the North American International Championships (NAIC)!
Held in the summer, this tournament is competitors’ last chance to qualify for Worlds, making it the most important event of the season for many. This year’s NAIC, held this weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana, will feature the game’s top players and is set to be one of the most exciting tournaments in the modern TCG!
Today, we’re going to walk you through everything you need to know about NAIC 2024, including the tournament format, decks to anticipate and a who's-who of the top players.
The NAIC Championship Format
If the pressure of qualifying for Worlds isn’t enough excitement for players, NAIC will also be the first tournament to feature cards from Pokemon’s newest expansion Twilight Masquerade! In the weeks leading up to the event, players have been scrambling to find the best ways to utilize these new cards to get a leg up on the competition.
This is an opportunity for the game’s best deck builders to shine, and their creations can often define the evolution of the metagame. Tord Reklev, for example, won the European International Championship earlier this year with an unorthodox build of Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex–and a list with the same 59 cards out of Tord’s 60 won a Regional the very next weekend!
NAIC will be divided into three days of competition. On the first day, everyone will play nine Swiss-style rounds, each one being a best-of-three with a 50 minute time limit. Wins award three points; ties (where each player wins a game and game three does not finish) award one point; and losses award zero. Each player with nineteen or more points at the end of the first day advances to the second phase, in which there will be six more Swiss rounds. The top 8 players after these fifteen rounds then advance to a single-elimination bracket to crown the winner!
Top Pokémon TCG Decks to Anticipate at NAIC
Despite the presence of many new strategies players are eager to try out, several decks have emerged as the top contenders for this event. Let’s take a look at a few of them:
Lugia VSTAR/Archeops: This deck has been around a while, and Twilight Masquerade gave it huge upgrades in Legacy Energy and Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex. The ability to utilize Archeops’s Primal Turbo to power up attackers like Cinccino and Iron Hands ex make this one of the most threatening decks out there, and players should expect it to be at the top of its game going into NAIC.
Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex: Teal Mask Ogerpon ex provides a way to both draw cards and flood the board with Energy, making it the perfect partner Raging Bolt ex has been needing. This deck is blisteringly fast, capable of doing up to 350 damage on the first turn of the game–despite several problematic matchups, its speed and consistency make it one of the most hyped choices for this tournament.
Gardevoir ex: A favorite of the game’s most skilled players, Gardevoir ex benefits greatly from the addition of Munkidori, one of Twilight Masquerade’s most interesting cards! Its versatility and ability to adapt to any matchup or situation using attackers like Cresselia, Drifloon and Scream Tail (in combination with Bravery Charm to boost their damage), and even Gardevoir ex itself makes this deck a solid contender to win the entire event.
These decks may be the most talked about, but innovation is one of the most exciting things about NAIC. Expect to encounter unfamiliar strategies at some point and be ready to see players adapt to unusual card choices in their matches!
Players to Watch
Almost all of the game’s best players will be in attendance at NAIC, and there are many exciting storylines to watch out for. From International Champions looking to claim another title to up-and-coming players hungry for their first major win, here are some of the top players to watch this weekend in NOLA.
Tord Reklev: (29, Norway) If you have been to a Pokemon TCG tournament in the last few years, then you know who Tord is. The five-time International Champion is widely regarded as the best in the world. He's not just an extremely skilled player, but also one of the top deck builders in the game. Tord's success at the beginning of new format blocks is astonishingly consistent, and it’s always exciting to see firsthand what he brings to an event this large.
Azul Garcia Griego: (30, USA) If there’s any modern player giving Tord a run for his money, it’s Azul. He has remained one of the game’s most dominant players since the mid-2010s, and is a prolific content creator as well! His popularity and consistent success mean that his performance at NAIC will shape the narrative of the entire event.
Regan Retzloff: (18, USA) Regan is one of the game’s most successful young players, and he has been on an absolute tear recently. NAIC will be his chance to play in the finals of an International for a second time, and perhaps even his first victory!
Brent Tonisson: (23, Australia) One of Oz's best players is looking to make waves at NAIC this year. Fresh off a Top 8 performance at the Stockholm Regional last month, Brent is known for his unique takes on popular decks, building very refined decklists which have led to major success during his career.
Sander Wojcik: (Netherlands) Sander is known for his extremely creative takes on the Control archetype in the Pokemon TCG. He is widely regarded as one of the best Control players of all time, and is extremely good at adapting the deck to a new metagame.
NAIC 2024 will definitely be a tournament to remember! In addition to new cards and storylines, it has smashed the attendance record for a Pokemon tournament with almost 4,000 players in the TCG alone! If you’re looking to keep up with the action at home, almost every round will be streamed. Good luck to anyone playing, and we’ll see you next week for our tournament recap!
