Regidrago Ogerpon (TCG)

Regidrago Ogerpon is a Pokémon Trading Card Game that was mainly played in the 2024-25 season of the . The deck's strategy revolves around discarding a variety of Pokémon, and using 's Apex Dragon attack to use their attacks, dealing large amounts of damage to the Active Pokémon, while at the same time spreading damage across the Bench to take Prize Cards on multiple fronts. This deck archetype saw a lot of play in the 2024 World Championships Masters Division, holding four of the Top 8 positions. Additionally, it won first place in the Senior Division in the same year.
==Strategy==
Regidrago Ogerpon decks aim to set up Regidrago VSTAR quickly by using a combination of 's Teal Dance Ability to attach extra every turn and , which, with a Energy attachment from the hand, can allow Regidrago VSTAR to use its Apex Dragon attack as early as the player's second turn of the game. This allows the deck to strike before other decks that take longer to set up. 
In the process of setting up, it is essential to discard key Pokémon such as , , and to give Regidrago a variety of strong attacks to choose from when using Apex Dragon. These can be discarded with Trainer cards like , and , or with 's Squawk and Seize Ability.
Once Regidrago VSTAR is powered up and the right Pokémon are in the discard pile, in most situations the strategy is to go right in to attack with Dragapult ex's Phantom Dive to deal 200 damage to the Active Pokémon while weakening the Bench to make them susceptible to either another Phantom Dive or otherwise Giratina VSTAR's Lost Impact. Throughout the game, proper usage of and to disrupt the opponent and consistently take Prize cards on every turn.
The timing of using Regidrago VSTAR's VSTAR Power is crucial, as it is the player's way out of disruptions like and in the late game. It can also be the remedy to a slow setup in the early game, so it is up to the player to judge the opportune time to use it.
==Key Cards==
* - Regidrago VSTAR is the deck's main attacker. For , Regidrago VSTAR's Apex Dragon attack allows the use of a chosen move from any of the Pokémon in the player's discard pile. This allows for the use of a variety of powerful attacks that would otherwise be difficult to pull off by normal means, all in the same deck. Additionally, once per game, its Legacy Star VSTAR Power allows the player to discard the top seven cards of their deck, and afterwards put any two cards from the discard pile into their hand. This is useful for discarding Pokémon, as well as retrieving Items or other cards necessary to complete the deck's initial setup in the early game, and to reuse key resources like ACE SPEC cards in the late game. Regidrago VSTAR, as a Pokémon, has no natural weakness, and is therefore a difficult Pokémon to counter.
* - Teal Dance allows the player to attach 1 Basic Energy to Teal Mask Ogerpon ex every turn, and to draw a card in the process. This Energy can be moved to Regidrago VSTAR to help power up its Apex Dragon attack. Alternatively, Teal Mask Ogerpon can serve as a secondary attacker, using its Myriad Leaf Shower attack in matchups against Grass-weak Pokémon like and . 
* - Dragapult ex is the most common Pokémon used in this deck for the purpose of being discarded. As long as it is in the discard pile, Regidrago VSTAR's Apex Dragon can allow its Phantom Dive attack to be used, which deals 200 damage to the Active Pokémon while spreading 6 damage counters onto the Bench in any way desired, allowing for easier Knock Outs later.
* - Another discardable Pokémon that allows Regidrago VSTAR to use its Lost Impact attack for 280 damage for situations where more than 200 damage is necessary for a Knock Out. While this requires that 2 Energy be put into the Lost Zone, this can be paid for with any extra Energy attached to Teal Mask Ogerpon ex via Teal Dance.
* - A Pokémon whose Rolling Iron attack can be used by Regidrago VSTAR to give it some extra survivability, especially against decks that can otherwise do enough damage to OHKO it.
* - As of the release of the Shrouded Fable expansion, Kyurem has been a common inclusion in Regidrago Ogerpon decks as a discardable Pokémon, which allows Regidrago VSTAR to use its Trifrost attack via Apex Dragon. This attack does 110 damage to 3 Benched Pokémon with the cost of discarding all Energy attached to Regidrago VSTAR. The benefit of this is that if pulled off early enough, it can disrupt the setup of decks with Pokémon ex that evolve from weak Basic Pokémon. After using Trifrost, Energy can be reattached to Regidrago VSTAR with the combination of Teal Mask Ogerpon ex's Teal Dance and Energy Switch.
* - A Basic support Pokémon that has the Restart Ability, which allows the player to draw cards until they have 3 in their hand. This is a good way to provide extra draw power beyond Teal Mask Ogerpon ex's Teal Dance, as this deck has many consumable resources that can be used and/or discarded quickly.
* - A Basic ex Pokémon that is useful at the start of the game for its Squawk and Seize Ability, which, on the player's first turn, allows the player to discard their hand and draw 6 cards. This is useful for getting key Pokémon into the discard pile early on.
* - This Item card is crucial to the deck, allowing Energy to be moved from Teal Mask Ogerpon ex to Regidrago VSTAR for the purpose of powering up the latter's Apex Dragon attack quickly.
* - Places any Basic Pokémon onto the Bench, allowing the player to set up Pokémon like Regidrago V, Teal Mask Ogerpon ex, or Squawkabilly ex early on.
* - A card that can search out Regidrago VSTAR or any desired Pokémon to discard for Apex Dragon later on. This card also can be used to discard the latter, as long as they are already in the hand.
* - Searches out 2 Basic Energy cards while discarding a card from the hand. This card can find any of the few Energy cards in the deck for Regidrago VSTAR, as well as Energy that can be attached to Teal Mask Ogerpon ex for a Teal Dance activation. This is another method that can be used to discard Pokémon.
* - A card used to counter Pokémon such as and , whose Abilities would otherwise prevent Regidrago VSTAR from damaging them. Can also be used after switching the opponent's into the Active Spot so as to be able to use Trifrost without interference.
* - The common ACE SPEC of choice for this deck, allowing Regidrago VSTAR to bring in a Pokémon on the opponent's Bench for an easy and disruptive Knock Out. This Item has the added benefit of switching out the user's Active Pokémon, which prevents opponents from stalling by gusting up a Pokémon on the Bench, like an unprepared with its Retreat Cost of 3. As a bonus, this ACE SPEC can potentially be used twice in one game, thanks to Regidrago VSTAR's Legacy Star.
==Typical decklist==
===Evan Pavelski's 1st place decklist (2024 World Championships TCG Senior Division)===
===Grant Shen's 4th place decklist (Sacramento Regionals, 2025)===
==Possible tech cards==
The following cards can be used in Regidrago Ogerpon decks in place of certain cards included in the above list.
* - A powerful late-game card that can OHKO many low-HP Pokémon ex and Pokémon V as a single-Prize attacker with Combustion Blast.
* - A Basic Pokémon with the Flying Entry Ability that can make it easier for Regidrago VSTAR to guarantee Knock Outs on the Bench with Phantom Dive or Trifrost.
* - A Pokémon that gives Regidrago VSTAR more attacking options. Swinging Sphene can be used to guarantee Knock Outs on Basic Pokémon either in the Active Spot or on the Bench. Additionally, in some situations it may be beneficial to use its Tropical Frenzy attack to finish off a low HP Pokémon while providing Energy for another Regidrago VSTAR on the Bench.
* - A discardable Pokémon that has the Bellowing Thunder attack, that can, when timed right, knock out anything in the game, at the cost of discarding large amounts of Energy.
* - While its damage is low, Regidrago VSTAR can use Noivern ex's Covert Flight attack to become immune to decks that rely on Basic Pokémon as their main attacker.
* - Another discardable Pokémon that can be used in place of , thanks to its Shred attack, which deals 130 damage and is unaffected by any effects on the opponent's Active Pokémon.
* - A Pokémon that allows Regidrago VSTAR to counter with its Bring Down the Axe attack, which Knocks Out anything with Special Energy attached. Ideally, this attack should be paired with the Stadium, which would prevent from blocking the effect of this attack.
* - Allows a Basic Pokémon to be returned to the hand. Can be an alternative method of getting an underprepared Regidrago V back into the hand after it is forced into the Active Spot via . Can also be used to return a basic Pokémon like or to the hand, so as to be discarded later, in case the player is forced to start the game with it in the Active Spot due to a bad hand.
* - As this deck does not use Pokémon Tools, Jamming Tower is an excellent disruptive Stadium choice for this deck, blocking opponents from using tools that boost HP or damage, ACE SPECs like , or setup aids like .
* - A Stadium that has the potential to get Pokémon into the discard pile early on while providing useful Items that the deck's setup relies on.
Category:Deck archetypes