Shadow Rider wins the 2026 Aichi Champions League

(This news is about a current event and will be updated as new information is gathered.)

The 2026 Champions League in Aichi, Japan, the biggest Expanded event of the year, with about 900 competitors, has concluded.

We expected a Regidrago fiesta, and we got... something different. Regidrago was the most played deck, and the most represented deck in the top cut, by far... but unlike last year, when it occupied seven spots in the top 8, this year, no Regidrago made it further than top 16.

Instead, the winner (@pokecayasunori) used a Shadow Rider deck and went undefeated throughout the tournament, beating an Evo Vileplume deck featuring Stoutland in the finals, which was also undefeated up to the finals! Stall decks (whether Snorlax Stall or Iron Thorns) got three spots in the top 8, and surprisingly, Mew VMAX, a deck many had cast aside, also made it to the top 8.

CL26 01 - Shadow Rider.png

Some might be wondering: is that the end of Regidrago? The answer is no. Regidrago was still very present in top 32 and beyond, and should still be considered the best deck in the format. Just like last year's results of "Oops! All Drago" did not paint a complete picture of the metagame, it would be just as silly to think that Regidrago's reign is over because it underperformed. It's only one tournament, after all.

The reasons for Regidrago's unexpected absence from top 8 are not clear yet, but at first glance, it looks like many Regidrago decks were preparing very hard for the mirror match, and got caught by surprise by various archetypes such as Snorlax Stall and Electro Rain OTK, that they weren't equipped to handle. It is likely that, in the future, they will run more cards aimed at dealing with non-Regidrago decks. I will post a more detailed analysis of the results soon.

In the meantime, here are the results, with links to the decklist if the player posted it. Feel free to check out the deck catalogue to learn more about these decks! The tournament was run in best of 1 (like all events in Japan), with 8 Swiss rounds followed by a top 32. This year, every 7-1 player made it into the top cut, with two lucky 6-2 players joining them.

Due to the difficulty of getting information, I'm not trying to get the players' names. However, you can find the top 16 finishers on LimitlessTCG already.

Winner : Shadow Rider (with Radiant Eternatus, Mimikyu + Dialga-GX, Sky Field)

Finalist : Evo Vileplume / Stoutland

Top 4 : Snorlax Stall (Energy denial build with Galarian Stunfisk)

Top 4 : Electro Rain OTK (with Eldegoss V)

Top 8 : Mew VMAX (Sky Field and Path to the Peak hybrid build, without Power Tablet)

Top 8 : Quad Thorns (with Echoing Horn, Captivating Poké Puff and Spiky Energy)

Top 8 : Snorlax Stall

Top 8 : Absol / Garbodor (with Boost Shake)

Top 16 : Absol / Toedscruel (with Electrode-GX and Silent Lab)

Top 16 : Regidrago (Prime Catcher, with Hisuian Goodra VSTAR)

Top 16 : Absol / Garbodor (with Boost Shake, Oranguru V)

Top 16 : Regidrago (Megaton Blower, with Echoing Horn)