Team Up! Standard Format Set Review

By: Rukan Shao · Posted Jan 23, 2019 at 6:26 PM · 0 Comments

Hey everyone, Rukan here with my first set review on PokeBeach. Our next Standard event includes the Team Up set, as well as the Jolteon-GX, Flareon-GX, Vaporeon-GX, and Eevee-GX promos, and I want to get a jump start on that format. As I discuss my card reviews, I intend to discuss two aspects of deck building I think tend to get overlooked: a card’s searchability and its deck space efficiency, or Search and Value for short.

As an example for search: I saw players including [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] in Psychic [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] lists immediately after Philadelphia Regionals this year. I would say those cards possess poor search because no other card in Malamar decks can grab them for you.

As an example of value: Poet Larsen and his teammates removed Garbotoxin [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] from their [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor list at Worlds 2018. Garbotoxin provides a powerful effect, but it eats through a significant number of deck slots. Decks typically commit at least one slot to Garbotoxin itself, some more for Tools, and sometimes an extra copy of [card name=”Rescue Stretcher” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]s as well. So when Poet Larsen built his Zoroark-GX / Garbodor list for Worlds 2018, he cut Garbotoxin Garbodor completely, finding better uses for those deck slots. The majority of the players piloting Poet’s variant of Zoroark-GX / Garbodor would end up making it past Day 1 of Worlds, and Jimmy Taylor would ultimately win the Nashville Open with the list. That kind of spectacular performance highlights the benefits of accurately evaluating a card’s deck space efficiency, even if it means second guessing some of the most powerful cards in the format.

I want to use this set review as an opportunity to hammer in the concepts of Search and Value. It doesn’t take much effort to think about when you glance at a card, and appreciating them can dramatically improve your deck building.

Lightning Pokemon

Ever since rotation, each new set would bring a new, powerful, and aggressive archetype to forefront of our Standard format. Celestial Storm brought us [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]. Lost Thunder brought us [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]. And now, Team Up brings us Lightning Box. Lightning gains several powerful new tools and we already saw Zapdos dominate the Niigata Champions League in Japan, taking a third of the Top 32 placements.

Zapdos – Lightning – HP110
Basic Pokemon

[L] Assault Thunder: 10+ damage. If this Pokemon became your Active Pokemon this turn, this attack does 70 more damage. This attack’s damage isn’t affected by Weakness.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 2

Overall: 5|5 – Format defining
Search: 4|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 5|5 – 80 damage for ~2-3 cards on turn one is unprecedented.

I think of Assault Thunder as a better Jet Punch from [card name=”Buzzwole-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], as a 30-30 damage spread decks requires damage modifiers to Knock Out evolving Basic Pokemon. It sets up 2HKOs on two-Prize Pokemon-GX better than Jet Punch. And similar to Burst-GX on Blacephalon-GX, Zapdos helps ensure the Lightning archetype starts the game off with an oppressive tempo lead. Compared to Burst-GX, Zapdos threatens a Knock Out to disrupt setup decks like Zoroark-GX and Malamar. Not to mention the Fighting-type Resistance helps cover the [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] matchup.

Zapdos does become a bit weak in the mid-to-late game, but I think tools exist to shore up that issue.

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX – Lightning – HP240
Basic Pokemon (TAG TEAM)

[L][L][L] Full Blitz: 150 damage. Search your deck for up to 3 [L] Energy cards and attach them to 1 of your Pokemon. Then, shuffle your deck.

[L][L][L]+ Tag Bolt GX: 200 damage. If this Pokemon has at least 3 extra [L] Energy attached to it (in addition to this attack’s cost), this attack does 170 damage to 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon. (Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon.) (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your TAG TEAM is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 3 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 3

Overall: 5|5 – Format defining
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and Nest Ball
Value: 5|5 – Lots of damage and Energy acceleration for the number of cards required

Speaking of mid-to-late game tools, Pikachu & Zekrom-GX. Let’s compare it to [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], since I consider Malamar one of the most powerful late-game archetypes.

To Knock Out a [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM58″ c=”name”][/card] would require three Energy and two Malamar, or about eight total cards. Plus, at the end of the turn, you discard your Energy, leaving a vulnerable board state. Pikachu & Zekrom-GX do the same with an Energy card, a Tapu Koko Prism Star, a damage modifier, and an [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card]. I evaluate Full Blitz at about six to seven total cards, slightly less than Necrozma-GX. But on top of the smaller card footprint, it uses fewer Bench spaces and attaches more Energy rather than discarding it. Pikachu & Zekrom-GX might struggle to hit massive targets, but it removes Pokemon like Tapu Lele-GX and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] much more efficiently than Necrozma-GX.

Plus, the Energy acceleration pushes Full Blitz over the top. Attaching additional Energy from deck can establish a checkmate board state in matchups like Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] or Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]. Zoroark-GX decks tend to struggle to Knock Out something with as much HP as Pikachu & Zekrom-GX or [card name=”Zeraora-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card]. With six Energy on board, you force a Zoroark-GX deck to reach for two big KOs. Zoroark-GX can take out Pikachu & Zekrom-GX with a GX attack, but they likely lose the game if they cannot deal with your next three-Energy attacker in a single hit. I do not think Zoroark-GX can reliably accomplish this without changing to some entirely new, and overall weaker, archetype like Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Lucario-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM100″ c=”name”][/card].

Tag Bolt-GX offers another interesting tool to the deck. In theory, it could severely punish any deck that cannot OHKO a Pikachu & Zekrom-GX after a Full Blitz. A [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] deck cannot OHKO a Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, which enables you to set up a Tag Bolt-GX turn and then use it to take out two [card name=”Magcargo” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”24″ c=”name”][/card] in a single turn. In general, I think if you can Full Blitz six Energy onto the field, you would win regardless of Tag Bolt-GX.

Jolteon-GX – Lightning – HP200
Stage 1 – Evolves from Eevee

[L] Electrobullet: 30 damage. This attack does 30 damage to 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon. (Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon.)

[L][C] Head Bolt: 110 damage.

[L][C] Swift Run GX: 110 damage. Prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done to this Pokemon during your opponent’s next turn. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 0

Overall: 2|5 – Niche tech
Search: 4|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and Energy Evolution [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 2|5 – Attack options are not overpowered and Stage 1 Pokemon take up more deck slots than Basic Pokemon

I build all my decks in a toolbox fashion, and I see Jolteon-GX as a tech option for a hypothetical toolbox.

As a rule of thumb, I need tech cards to counter a matchup for a single tech slot. But as a Stage 1 tech, it implicitly demands two deck slots instead of one. I like Electrobullet, but I do not like it enough to justify two deck slots when other options like Zapdos and [card name=”Raikou” set=”Shining Legends” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] exist for a single deck slot.

I could see Swift Run GX swinging a few matchups, but, once again, it feels a tad too expensive in my mind.

Ampharos-GX – Lightning – HP240
Stage 2 – Evolves from Flaaffy

[L] Power Recharge: 30 damage. Put all Electripower cards from your discard pile into your hand.

[L][L] Impact Bolt: 150 damage. Discard all [L] Energy from this Pokemon.

[L] Electrical GX: Search your deck for up to 7 Pokemon, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 3

Rating: 2|5 – Niche Tech
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc
Value: 2|5 – Stage 2s require a lot of deck slots

In my mind, you can use Ampharos-GX in two ways. You can use it as a primary attacker, aiming to capitalize on [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card], attacking for a single Energy. Or you can use it to recover multiple [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] in a more aggressive deck. I personally prefer the latter.

Tanking with Max Potions feels fundamentally weaker than playing an aggressive, heavy hitting deck. The existence of other Tag Team Pokemon-GX naturally pressures the format into running more OHKO options. And with stall decks gaining ever more tools each set, Max Potion feels like more of a liability than ever before.

But as a Stage 2, I would struggle to fit Ampharos-GX into a deck as a tech Pokemon. I would prefer to run Electrocharger, a card in Team Up that I will review later, or [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] over Ampharos-GX for that reason.

Zebstrika – Lightning – HP120
Stage 1 – Evolves from Blitzle

[L][C] Raid: 30+ damage. If this Pokemon evolved from Blitzle during this turn, this attack does 90 more damage.

[L][L][C] Mach Bolt: 100 damage.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 1|5 – Awful
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc
Value: 1|5 – Terrible HP, terrible attack cost, terrible damage

I bring this card up because it saw some top placements at Niigata Champions League. Not many single-Prize Lightning-type Pokemon in our format hit hard, and Zebstrika’s Raid attack at least deals reasonable damage. Plus, that damage could scale up to notable numbers with [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], Electropower and [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]. But I would never play it. Zebstrika deals too little damage for the combined Energy and Evolution cost. I would rather run [card name=”Unit Energy LPM” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] and Trashalanche [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] instead, or something along those lines.

Emolga – Lightning – HP60
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Nuzzly Gathering
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may search your deck for a Pokemon that has the Nuzzle attack, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.

[L] Nuzzle: Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Paralyzed.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 0

Rating: 4|5 – Good for Lost March
Search: 5|5 – Searches itself and generates hand advantage
Value: 2|5 – Eats a lot of deck slots for only a marginal consistency boost

I would compare Emolga to Propagation [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] from Expanded: a Pokemon with an Ability that puts a filler card into your hand. While far inferior to Exeggcute, an inferior Exeggcute does deserve attention in Standard. It synergizes particularly well with [card name=”Pokémon Communication” set=”Black and White” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], as it puts Emolgas back into the deck for subsequent turns. But in terms of deck space value, it demands significantly more deck slots than Exeggcute, and most decks cannot afford to burn so many deck slots on filler Pokemon.

There does exist one deck in Standard that could appreciate this kind of filler Pokemon: Lost March. Noel Totomoch pointed this out to me, but you can run Emolga to guarantee additional targets when you draw into your [card name=”Lost Blender” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card]. Now Emolga not only makes your Pokemon Communication, [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], and Lost Blender more consistent, but each one extends your deck’s maximum damage output by 20 damage.

Galvantula – Lightning – HP90
Stage 1 – Evolves from Joltik

Ability: Unnerve
Prevent all effects done to this Pokemon by Item or Supporter cards played from your opponent’s hand.

[L] Spider Sled: 40 damage. Search your discard pile for 1 card and put it into your hand.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 2|5 – Filler
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc.
Value: 2|5 – Tools feel niche and is Stage 1

How would you use this card? Perhaps as a stall counter? I would prefer [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] as that eats up fewer deck slots. What about in some sort of “Trap in the Active position” archetype? Unfortunately, those archetypes never perform well.

Ultimately, this card feels like filler.

Tapu Koko Prism Star – Lightning – HP130
Basic Pokemon

You can’t have more than 1 Prism Star card with the same name in your deck. If a Prism Star card would go to the discard pile, put it in the Lost Zone instead.

Ability: Ancestor’s Dance
Once during your turn (before your attack), if this Pokemon is on your Bench, you may use this Ability. Choose 2 of your Benched Pokemon and attach 1 [L] Energy from your discard pile to each of them. Then, put this Pokemon in the Lost Zone (discard all cards attached to this Pokemon).

[L][L][C] Mach Bolt: 120 damage.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 5|5 – Format defining
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 5|5 – This effect normally requires two Stage 1 Pokemon

Compare this to something like [card name=”Aqua Patch” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]: Not only can you search it with Nest Ball and Ultra Ball, but it offers twice as much value per deck slot as Aqua Patch.

This deck expands Lightning’s options, and could even see play in other decks as Colorless Energy acceleration.

I do not think I need to say more.

Electrode – Lightning – HP90
Stage 1 – Evolves from Voltorb

Ability: Energy Shaker
Once during your turn, when you play this card from your hand to evolve a Pokemon, you may move any number of [L] Energy cards attached to your Pokemon to your other Pokemon in any way you like.

[L][C] Speed Ball: 50 damage.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 2|5 – Filler
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc
Value: 2|5 – Ability is good, but only activated once and Stage 1

Zeraora – Lightning – HP120
Basic Pokemon

[C] Slash: 20 damage.

[L][L][C] Wild Bolt: 120 damage. This Pokemon does 20 damage to itself.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Metal (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 2|5 – Better options exist
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and Nest Ball
Value: 2|5 – Filler

[premium]

Grass Pokemon

Venusaur & Celebi-GX – Grass– HP270
Basic Pokemon (TAG TEAM)

[G][C][C] Pollen Hazard: 50 damage. Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Burned, Confused and Poisoned.

[G][G][C][C] Solar Beam: 150 damage.

[G][G][C][C]+ Evergreen GX: 180 damage. Heal all damage from this Pokemon. If this Pokemon has at least 1 extra [G] Energy attached to it (in addition to this attack’s cost), shuffle all cards from your discard pile into your deck. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your TAG TEAM is Knocked Out, your opponent takes three Prize cards.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 4

Rating: 4|5 – Solid tech option in [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card], kind of works as its own archetype
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball, [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Net Ball” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”187″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 4|5 – Big HP, absurd GX attack, only requires

From an in-game perspective, Venusaur & Celebi-GX offers huge value. It lets you recycle your entire deck back! But from a deck building perspective, it requires a lot of deck slots. You not only demand a heavy Energy count, but ways to either accelerate Energy or protect your Venusaur & Celebi-GX long enough to manually attach five Energy.

As for the card itself, it saw some hype in Japan. I can understand how it performs well against decks like Zapdos and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]. The combination of [card name=”Aether Paradise Conservation Area” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card] and healing cards can enable Venusaur & Celebi-GX to survive long enough to eventually use the GX attack. Plus I expect Zapdos to pressure [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] away from the top tables somewhat.

I dislike the concept of a slow, tanky, healing-focused Venusaur archetype. Such an archetype feels far too vulnerable to both [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and stall archetypes. Instead, I prefer the concept of running Venusaur & Celebi-GX as a tech card in Vikavolt / Rayquaza-GX.

Shaymin Prism Star – Grass – HP80
Basic Pokemon

You can’t have more than 1 Prism Star card with the same name in your deck. If a Prism Star card would go to the discard pile, put it in the Lost Zone instead.

[G][G] Flower Storm: 30x damage. This attack does 30 damage times the number of basic Energy attached to your Pokemon in play.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 0

Rating: 5|5 – Good in Vikavolt / Rayquaza-GX
Search: 5|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], Nest Ball, Net Ball
Value: 5|5 – Efficient, like most Prism Star cards

Between this, [card name=”Latias Prism Star” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], and Tapu Koko Prism Star, Rayquaza-GX’s Stormy Winds Ability might start feeling a bit risky though.

Beedrill – Grass – HP130
Stage 2 – Evolves from Kakuna

[G] Destiny Barb: This attack can only be used when this Pokemon has damage counters on it. Both Active Pokemon are Knocked Out.

[C][C] Reckless Charge: 90 damage. This Pokemon does 10 damage to itself.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 2|5 – Weak counter to Tag Team Pokemon-GX
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc.
Value: 2|5 – Heavy deck slot commitment for Stage 2 and [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card], niche payoff

Parasect – Grass – HP100
Stage 1 – Evolves from Paras

Ability: Panic Spore
Put 2 damage counters on your opponent’s Confused Pokemon between turns.

[G][C] Mysterious Powder: 30 damage. Flip a coin, if heads your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Confused.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 2|5 – Filler
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc.
Value: 2|5 – “20 damage for a Stage 1 Abilities” rarely see play

I want my deck’s flex slots to either provide around 60 damage per slot or a huge tempo boost. Stage 1 Ability Pokemon that increase your damage by 20 do not fill this requirement. They consume two deck slots, and thus need at least three turns to pay off. As such, I find “20 damage for a Stage 1 Ability” Pokemon suboptimal. I make an exception for [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] as placing damage counters anywhere offers substantially more value than your opponent’s Active Pokemon.

Fire Pokemon

Charizard – Fire – HP150
Stage 2 – Evolves from Charmeleon

Ability: Addicting Drive
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may put 2 damage counters on this Pokemon. If you do, search your deck for up to 2 [R] Energy cards and attach them to this Pokemon. Then, shuffle your deck.

[R][R] Continuous Blaze Ball: 30+ damage. Discard all [R] Energy from this Pokemon. This attack does 50 more damage for each card you discarded in this way.

Weakness: Water (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

Rating: 3|5 – A better Vikavolt?
Search: 3|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], etc.
Value: 3|5 – Stage 2 single-Prize that needs to survive multiple turns to hit more than 180 base.

Compared to [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], this card offers comparable HP to hit for 20 more damage in one turn and the option to hit even harder if it can survive multiple turns while charging up. Charizard could even OHKO Tag Team Pokemon if it survives for two turns.

It definitely looks decent compared to Vikavolt. It can attack by itself so it uses fewer deck spaces than Vikavolt would. But that extra deck space also makes Charizard board states more vulnerable than something like Vikavolt. Vikavolt can dump Energy on other Pokemon like Rayquaza-GX, which can continue attacking if Vikavolt gets removed. A Charizard deck feels fragile in comparison, constantly risking its Energy engine whenever it attacks.

Ninetales – Fire – HP100
Stage 1 – Evolves from Vulpix

Ability: Nine Tailed Invitation
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may discard 2 [R] Energy cards from your hand. Then, choose 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon and switch it with his or her Active Pokemon.

[R][C][C] Flame Tail: 90 damage.

Weakness: Water (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 2|5 – Hard to fit in decks
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc.
Value: 2|5 – Powerful Ability but requires a lot of deck space to make it run consistently

Similar to the Garbotoxin [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] analogy I made in the introduction, Ninetales offers a powerful Ability but requires a large deck space commitment. Garbotoxin Garbodor required a Stage 1 line and Tools, Ninetales requires a Stage 1 line and lots of Fire Energy. But since Ninetales requires two Fire Energy, it demands a draw engine to get two Energy into your hand consistently too. I would not run a card like this unless more support came out for it.

Moltres – Fire – HP120
Basic Pokemon

[R] Wildfire: Discard all [R] Energy from this Pokemon. If you do, for each Energy you discarded, discard 1 card from the top of your opponent’s deck.

[R][R][R][C] Fire Spin: 180 damage. Discard 3 Energy from this Pokemon.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 2

Rating: 2|5 – Lacks support
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 1|5 – Does not do enough without reliable Fire Energy acceleration from discard pile

Flareon-GX – Fire – HP210
Stage 1 – Evolves from Eevee

[R] Heat Stage: 30 damage. You may attach up to 3 [R] Energy from your hand to your Pokemon in any way you like.

[R][R][C] Bright Flame: 190 damage. Discard 2 [R] Energy from this Pokemon.

[R] Power Burn GX: 20x damage. This attack does 20 damage times the number of [R] Energy in your discard pile.

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Water (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

Rating: 2|5 – Probably will not see play over [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]
Search: 4|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and Energy Evolution [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 3|5 – Solid, but not extraordinary, options

Flareon-GX offers two powerful OHKO options and a way to power itself up. Few cards offer as many tools per deck slot as this Flareon. Unfortunately, Flareon-GX competes with Blacephalon-GX as the big OHKO Fire-type Pokemon. And since the GX attack works from the discard pile, it cannot function in a Blacephalon-GX deck either.

While the card offers great OHKO tools, it does not offer a way to efficiently deal with single-Prize Pokemon. If the format offered an efficient single-Prize Fire-type Pokemon, Flareon-GX could see play as a tech “wall-breaker” in such a deck. And even if that did exist, Bright Flame and Power Burn both hit a bit too low to remove the new Tag Team Pokemon.

I would note that Flareon-GX saw some play with the new Charizard, which can deal with smaller threats. But I would question how consistently such a deck could operate.

Water Pokemon

Magikarp & Wailord-GX – Water – HP300

[W][W][W][W][W] Super Splash: 180 damage.

[W]+ Towering Splash-GX: 10 damage. If this Pokemon has at least 7 extra [W] Energy attached to it (in addition to this attack’s cost), this attack does 100 damage to each of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon. (Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon.)

Rating: 4|5 – Great tech card for [card name=”Quagsire” set=”Dragon Majesty” no=”26″ c=”name”][/card] and stall
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball, Nest Ball, and [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 4|5 – Tremendous HP, amazing GX attack, but Energy costs translate to deck slot costs

This card offers great stats, both in terms of HP and damage output. The GX attack offers a game-ending win condition against matchups like [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. But it comes with a bevy of concerns.

First, I consider the Water Energy acceleration engines suboptimal. I dislike [card name=”Archie’s Ace in the Hole” set=”Primal Clash” no=”124″ c=”custom”]Archie’s[/card] [card name=”Blastoise” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card] decks in Expanded because I feel that a deck that needs to pop off on turn one shares many similar weaknesses to [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Red Card” set=”Generations” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card]; this is despite rewarding the player a turn later. I dislike Quagsire / [card name=”Naganadel” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”108″ c=”name”][/card] in Standard because it requires a more intensive setup than decks like Malamar or Fairy [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] variants.

Second, it concerns me that the card cannot one-shot another Tag Team Pokemon-GX despite the massive investment required to power it up. Pokemon will continue to release more and more Tag Team Pokemon-GX. Water Box might acquire better tools for removing opposing Tag Team Pokemon-GX in the future. Right now, it would take something like Vaporeon-GX with seven to eight Energy to break a Tag Team.

Finally, it concerns me that Super Splash requires a [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to Knock Out a Zoroark-GX. I did not run Choice Band in Malamar because a deck with a heavy Stage 1 Pokemon line struggles to fit the draw power to find something like Choice Band. I do not see how you can simultaneously fit a Quagsire / Naganadel engine, Choice Bands, and a draw engine into one deck.

If I were to run Quagsire / Nagandel, I would avoid running Choice Band at all. I would rather run Eevee & Snorlax-GX for the Zoroark matchup rather than try to fit Choice Band, as I can search for Eevee & Snorlax-GX with an Ultra Ball. I would keep a single [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM166 ” c=”name”][/card] as a tech for other matchups though, particularly Malamar, but any deck where I need to hit 180 damage to an Active Pokemon.

I should mention that Magikarp & Wailord-GX offers a powerful tool for stall, but I do not consider myself an expert in that archetype.

Blastoise – Water – HP160
Stage 2 – Evolves from Wartortle

Ability: Power Squall
Once your during turn (before your attack), you may look at the top 6 cards of your deck. Choose as many [W] Energy cards you find there as you like and attach them to your Pokemon in any way you like. Then, shuffle the other cards back into your deck.

[W][W][W] Hydro Tackle: 150 damage. This Pokemon does 30 damage to itself.

Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3

Rating: 2|5 – Slightly more relevant than Charizard
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and Brooklet Hill (for Squirtle)
Value: 1|5 – Heavy deck slot commitment for Stage 2 and high Water Energy counts

Weak Ability compared to something like [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card]. It might offers synergy with the new Gyarados though. I doubt this card can work in any competitive deck, but I would not rule it out completely.

Gyarados – Water – HP150
Stage 1 – Evolves from Magikarp

[W] Filter Out: 30+ damage. Reveal the top 7 cards from your deck. This attack does 30 more damage for each [W[ Energy revealed. Shuffle those [W] Energy back into your deck. Discard the remaining cards.

[W][W][W] Hyper Beam: 100 damage. Discard an Energy from your opponent’s Active Pokemon.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 4

Rating: 3|5 – Powerful card, but huge setup cost and kills your late game
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card] (for [card name=”Magikarp” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card])
Value: 3|5 – Great stats but requires enormous deck space commitment

Stats wise, this card checks a lot of boxes: above average HP and high damage potential for one Energy. Fortunately, Zapdos cannot hit it for Weakness.

Lapras – Water – HP130
Basic Pokemon

[W] Confuse Ray: Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Confused.

[C] Hydro Pump: 10 damage. This attack does 30 more damage for each [W] Energy attached to this Pokemon.

Weakness: Metal (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3

Rating: 3|5 – Bulky single-Prize Pokemon, decent vs. Zapdos
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball, [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], and Brooklet Hill
Value: 3|5 – Lots of marginal utility, decent for a Basic Pokemon, but consumes a lot of Water Energy

Lapras feels “vanilla”, but I appreciate the HP specifically for the Zapdos matchup. Bulky single-Prize Pokemon force them to burn through multiple [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] or bait out Pokemon-GX in the Zapdos matchup. I could see this Lapras getting some play specifically as a tank against the Zapdos archetype. The attacks provide some utility, including a somewhat efficient wall breaker, but nothing exciting.

Articuno – Water – HP110
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Blizzard Veil
As long as this Pokemon is your Active Pokemon, whenever your opponent plays a Supporter card from their hand, prevent the effects of that card done to your Benched [W] Pokemon.

[W][W] Cold Cyclone: 70 damage. Move 2 [W] Energy from this Pokemon to 1 of your Benched Pokemon.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 2

Rating: 4|5 – Great Ability, mediocre damage
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball and Brooklet Hill
Value: 4|5 – Amazing Ability, attack synergizes with it, but implicitly requires a larger win condition in your deck.

Unfortunately, 110 HP puts Articuno in range of a single Electropower from Zapdos. The Lightning Weakness puts it in range of a [card name=”Raikou” set=”Shining Legends” no=”32″ c=”name”][/card] with a single Electropower too. Articuno feels much more vulnerable to Zapdos than Lapras did. Maybe you can run both Lapras and Articuno to cover both bases.

Otherwise, the Articuno is great for setting up your board.

Vaporeon-GX – Water – HP210
Stage 1 – Evolves from Eevee

Ability: Vapor Drops
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may heal 30 damage from your Active [W] Pokemon.

[C][C][C] Hydro Pump: 40+ damage. This attack does 30 more damage for each [W] Energy attached to this Pokemon.

[W] Healing Shower GX: Heal all damage from each of your [W] Pokemon in play. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Grass
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

Rating: 5|5 – Average wall breaker and great healer in one package
Search: 4|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and Energy Evolution [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 5|5 – Great healing options, attack is so-so but above average for Water right now

Vaporeon-GX pairs a reasonably powerful attack with some powerful healing options. It struggles to take out Tag Team Pokemon-GX, but you would not be teching Vaporeon-GX for that scenario — you would tech Vaporeon-GX to deal with smaller threats, and Vaporeon does that extremely well. You do not need to run it as an attacker. Right now, Vaporeon would perform great against [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks and Zapdos / [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] decks; but it would probably fold to something like Pikachu & Zekrom-GX. Still a very above average card nonetheless, and simply needs an answer to deal with big OHKO attackers like Pikachu & Zekrom-GX or [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] variants.

Water in Summary

I never liked Water Box. But, now, it feels like it offers the right attackers to cover quite a bit of the format. I feel uneasy about the consistency of Water Box, but given the right consistency engine and the right metagame, the deck can secure a spot in tier one. It offers the right toolbox of attackers to do so.

Psychic Pokemon

Gengar & Mimikyu-GX – Psychic – HP240
Basic Pokemon

[P][P] Poltergeist: 50x damage. Your opponent reveals their hand. This attack does 50 damage for each Trainer card you find there.

[P]+ Horror House GX: Your opponent can’t play any cards from their hand during their next turn. If this Pokemon has at least 1 extra [P] Energy attached to it (in addition to this attack’s cost), each player draws cards until they have 7 cards in their hand. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your TAG TEAM is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 3 Prize cards.

Weakness: Darkness (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 2

Rating: 5|5 – We might lack the tools to back up the initial Horror House right now
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball, [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 5|5 – Single deck slot, top tier attacks

Attacks like Horror House GX could easily break the game if your deck possesses the tools to checkmate your opponent after you use Horror House GX. Something like that might exist in Expanded, but might not in Standard. A free turn might not justify losing access to [card name=”Dawn Wings Necrozma-GX” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card]’s Moons Eclipse-GX.

As I gave it more thought, I realized that Poltergeist justifies a deck slot. Malamar can stall out in the late game against Zoroark-GX decks as they focus on KOing your Malamar line. Eventually, you may find yourself in a position where you cannot attach three Energies to attack. Poltergeist provides an answer to that issue. Now a Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] player cannot feel safe after sniping enough Malamar. Changing that matchup dynamic alone justifies Gengar & Mimikyu-GX in Malamar decks.

It provides an answer to massive tanks in ever popular HAND [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and stall archetypes. Without Gengar & Mimikyu-GX, you might need to draw and attach seven Psychic Energy to a [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM58″ c=”name”][/card] to Knock Out a [card name=”Magikarp and Wailord-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM166 ” c=”name”][/card], but Gengar & Mimikyu-GX can threaten that kind of damage for two Psychic Energy.

All this for the low, low price of one deck slot. That feels all too enticing to me, and I cannot help but give this card a full five star rating.

Nidoqueen – Psychic – HP160
Stage 2 – Evolves from Nidorina

Ability: Mother Call
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may search your deck for a Pokemon (except Pokemon-GX and Pokemon-EX), reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.

[C][C][C] Power Lariat: 10+ damage. This attack does 50 more damage for each Evolution Pokemon on your Bench.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3

Rating: 4|5 – Zapdos hates bulky single-Prize Pokemon, so extra points for that
Search: 5|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and Mysterious Treasure
Value: 4|5 – Huge HP, huge damage, solid Ability, but needs a ton of deck slots and has a terrible Weakness

This card trades great against Pokemon-GX and something like Zapdos that cannot KO it. It trades terribly against attackers in [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Deoxys” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card] though, so it wants to find an answer for those matchups.

In terms of Energy acceleration, three options exist:

Tapu Koko Prism Star
Malamar
[card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card]

Tapu Koko Prism Star offers tremendous deck space efficiency. But since it only works once, you can only use it in a format where each Nidoqueen can take multiple Prizes, i.e.: not against Malamar or Granbull. Between Tapu Koko Prism Star and [card name=”Super Boost Energy Prism Star” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], you might be able to set up three to four Nidoqueen before stalling out.

Malamar takes much more deck space, but synergizes with Mysterious Treasure and allows you to run your own [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] to swing matchups like Granbull. I doubt you could pull off the crucial turn-two attack as reliably as a dedicated Malamar Toolbox or a Granbull attack.

Finally, you could run Gardevoir-GX. While Gardevoir-GX demands a [card name=”Meganium” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Swampert” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”35″ c=”name”][/card] line and ends up eating the most deck slots, it offers an attacker that does not get Knocked Out by Giratina or Granbull. That could swing Prize races in ways that Tapu Koko Prism Star and Malamar cannot.

Tapu Koko Prism Star makes the most sense in a GX-heavy metagame. Gardevoir-GX makes the most sense if you fear Malamar. And Malamar makes the most sense if you want to run your own Giratina for some specific matchups.

Nidoking – Psychic – HP160
Stage 2 – Evolves from Nidorino

[C][C] Drag Off: Switch 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon with their Active Pokemon. This attack does 50 damage to the new Active Pokemon.

[P][C][C] King Drums: 100+ damage. If Nidoqueen is on your Bench, this attack does 100 more damage.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3

Rating: 1|5 – Filler
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 1|5 – Basically a [card name=”Garchomp” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card]

King Drums does not do enough damage for the commitment. I want more than 200 base damage for two Stage 2 Pokemon and two Energy attachments. Compare this to Garchomp. It does the same damage, but loses access to [card name=”Lucario” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card]’s Ability. The Drag Off attack seems scary for a Malamar opponent though. But I would never play this card competitively.

Starmie – Psychic – HP80
Stage 1 – Evolves from Staryu!

[C] Strange Wave: 40 damage. Search your deck for up to 3 [W] or [P] Energy cards and attach them to 1 of your Benched Pokemon. Then, shuffle your deck.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 2|5 – A bit too slow with only 40 damage as a Stage 1
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball and Mysterious Treasure
Value: 2|5 – Attack feels too slow and niche for a Stage 1

Mr. Mime – Psychic – HP80
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Scoop-Up Block
Your opponent’s Pokemon that have any damage counters on them, and any cards attached to those Pokemon, can’t be put into your opponent’s hand.

[C][C] Psy Bolt: 20 damage. Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Paralyzed.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 5|5 – Becomes better as stall decks gain more tools each set
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball, Mysterious Treasure, [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 4|5 – Great swing Ability for a single deck slot? Sold! Psy Bolt isn’t unusable either

Jynx – Psychic – HP90
Basic Pokemon

[C] Dazzle Dance: Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Confused.

[P][C] Strange Dance: Put damage counters equal to the number of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon on your opponent’s Pokemon in any way you like.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 1|5 – Mostly a potential tool for Expanded
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball, Mysterious Treasure, Nest Ball
Value: 1|5 – Neither attack does enough (in Standard)

In Standard, you could argue that Jynx helps you snipe a [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] before it evolves into a relevant threat. However, that play costs you a Bench slot, which could hurt a [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] deck significantly if your opponent never kills it. I see no reason to run it over [card name=”Chimecho” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] in Standard.

In Expanded, Jynx can attack on the first turn with [card name=”Dimension Valley” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], making it a potential option in some sort of Dimension Valley toolbox. But its application feels niche compared to many other potential Psychic-type attackers.

Fighting Pokemon

Lycanroc-GX – Fighting – HP200
Stage 1 – Evolves from Rockruff

Ability: Twilight Eye
When you play this card from your hand to evolve a Pokemon during your turn, you may discard an Energy from your opponent’s Active Pokemon.

[F][C][C] Accelerock: 120 damage.

[F] Radial Edge GX: 30x damage. This attack does 30 damage times the number of Energy cards in your opponent’s discard pile. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

Rating: 4|5 – Could be a worthwhile tech in Lycanroc decks
Search: 3|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], etc.
Value: 4|5 – A searchable [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] with a possibly relevant GX attack

Compared to Bloodthirsty Eyes [card name=”Lycanroc-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], this card feels inferior. Notably, the Ability feels worse. The GX attack gives you an option for a single Fighting Energy, but does not hit hard enough in many matchups. Accelerock offers a marginal improvement over Claw Slash; I will note that it OHKOs Pikachu & Zekrom-GX without additional damage modifiers. The two attacks do not feel like a great trade-off for losing Bloodthirsty Eyes.

You would never cut old Lycanroc-GX for this card, but you would cut something like [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]. This Lycanroc-GX might consume a Bench slot and a [card name=”Rockruff” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card], but it offers more value for a single deck slot. Enhanced Hammer only offers one Energy removal option. Lycanroc-GX offers one Energy removal option plus some potentially useful attacks. Additionally, you can search for Lycanroc-GX easier than Enhanced Hammer. This card checks the two boxes I look for: making your Tools more searchable and increasing the total number of Tools in your deck. Unfortunately, this improvement does feel marginal when you need to spend a Rockruff for the benefit.

Hitmonchan – Fighting – HP90
Basic Pokemon

[F] Hit and Away: 30 damage. You may switch this Pokemon with 1 of your Benched Pokemon.

[F][C][C] Magnum Punch: 70 damage.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 1|5 – How does this beat Zapdos?
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball, [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Brooklet Hill” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 1|5 – Standard lacks strong wall Pokemon that are not Stage 2

I can see this offering utility in Expanded, but that feels optimistic given [card name=”Donphan” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”72″ c=”name”][/card] has not performed notably yet.

Hitmonlee – Fighting – HP100
Basic Pokemon

[F] Special Combo: This attack can only be used if Hitmonchan used Hit and Away on your previous turn. This attack does 90 damage to 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon (don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon).

[F][F][C] Mega Kick: 90 damage.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 1|5 – Stop hating on [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], guys T_T
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball, Nest Ball, and Brooklet Hill
Value: 1|5 – Solid Malamar sniper, but I struggle to find other reasons to play this

Omastar – Fighting – HP130
Stage 2 – Evolves from Omanyte

Ability: Fossil Barrier
As long as this Pokemon is in play, if you have fewer Pokemon in play than your opponent, your opponent can’t play any Item cards from his or her hand.

[F][C] Bite: 60 damage.

Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 2|5 – Possibly an option for Aerodactyl / Jirachi
Search: 2|5 – Ultra Ball and Unidentified Fossil
Value: 2|5 – Bigger deck requirements than Vileplume

Item lock [card name=”Vileplume” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card] existed in the past, but without [card name=”Forest of Giant Plants” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] it never saw play. This card offers a weaker Ability and demands a more severe deckbuilding requirement.

However, I think it could fit into a hypothetical Aerodactyl / Jirachi Toolbox, so I do not want to completely write it off. If you set it up, your opponent could eventually break the Item lock by letting you take KOs. And the “Pokemon in play” condition of the Ability prevents you from utilizing this in a [card name=”Meganium” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] Toolbox.

Kabutops – Fighting – HP140
Stage 1 – Evolves from Kabuto

Ability: Fossil Memory
As long as this Pokemon is your Active Pokemon, your opponent can’t play any Supporter cards from their hand.

[F][C][C] Rock Slide: 80 damage. This attack does 20 damage to 2 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon (don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon).

Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

Rating: 1|5 – Extra tool for Meganium Toolbox at best
Search: 2|5 – Ultra Ball and Unidentified Fossil
Value: 1|5 – Cards similar to this exist but rarely see play

With [card name=”Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick” set=”Primal Clash” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card] banned in Expanded starting next month, I would rather play [card name=”Stoutland” set=”Boundaries Crossed” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] Shock Lock.

Dragon Pokemon

Latias & Latios-GX – Dragon – HP250
Basic Pokemon (TAG TEAM)

[W][P][P][C] Buster Purge: 240 damage. Discard 3 Energy from this Pokemon.

[P]+ Aero Unit GX: Attach 5 basic Energy cards from your discard pile to your Pokemon in any way you like. If this Pokemon has at least 1 extra Energy attached to it (in addition to this attack’s cost), prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done to this Pokemon during your opponent’s next turn. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your TAG TEAM is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 3 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fairy (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 1|5 – A worse [card name=”Lunala Prism Star” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] (in Standard)
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball, [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 1|5 – Clearly intended for Expanded with [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]s and [card name=”Double Dragon Energy” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]

The GX attack does so much for a Double Dragon Energy in Expanded. You could get enough Energy to Knock Out two [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] with it alone, and then you could utilize [card name=”Beast Ring” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] on an [card name=”Ultra Necrozma-GX” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”95″ c=”name”][/card] to find the final two Prizes.

Alolan Exeggutor – Dragon – HP160
Stage 1 – Evolves from Exeggcute

[.] Eggs Paradise Draw: Draw cards from your deck until you have 6 cards in your hand. Before drawing, you may discard any number of cards from your hand.

[G][C] Egg Drop: Discard any number of Exeggcute from your hand. This attack does 60 damage for each card discarded in this way.

Weakness: Fairy (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 4

Rating: 1|5 – Clearly intended for Expanded
Search: 5|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and Mysterious Treasure
Value: 1|5 – Clearly intended for Expanded

I do not like this card in Expanded either. If you attempt to run this as a standalone attacker, you would need to commit one [card name=”Exeggcute” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”4″ c=”name”][/card] to evolve into Exeggutor, then one more to prepare the next Exeggutor. That leaves you with 120 damage per turn, assuming you do not use [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and did not prize a single Exeggcute. It feels significantly more vulnerable to counter techs like [card name=”Girafarig” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”94″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Alolan Muk” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] as a primary attacker than as a tech.

I do think it could offer some niche value as a tech card though. Something like Zoroark-GX / [card name=”Golisopod-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] could try and fit four Exeggcute and a [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] to find a turn where it can deal massive damage. Unfortunately, that fails the value requirement, demanding about three more deck slots than another single-Prize tech Pokemon like [card name=”Zoroark” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card]. While I could argue that Alolan Exeggutor possesses more HP and swings matchups harder if it can survive to attack twice, I feel like I could do better things with the additional deck slot in Expanded than hit hard with a bulky single-Prize Pokemon.

Dragonite – Dragon – HP160
Stage 2 – Evolves from Dragonair

Ability: Fast Call
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may search your deck for a Supporter card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.

[W][L][C] Dragon Claw: 120 damage.

Weakness: Fairy (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3

Rating: 2|5 – Rarely better than [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball and Mysterious Treasure
Value: 2|5 – Requires far more deck slots than Tapu Lele-GX

Darkness Pokemon

Alolan Grimer – Darkness – HP70
Basic Pokemon

[C][C] Chemical Breath: 20+ damage. This attack does 50 more damage for each Special Condition affecting your opponent’s Active Pokemon.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 3

Rating: 1|5 – Attacks like these never perform well
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 1|5 – Requires a lot of deck slots to apply Special Conditions

Alolan Muk – Darkness – HP120
Stage 1 – Evolves from Alolan Grimer

Ability: Starvation Rations
When you play this Pokemon from your hand to evolve 1 of your Pokemon during your turn, you may look at the top 6 cards of your opponent’s deck and discard as many Item cards you find there as you like. Then, shuffle the remaining cards into your opponent’s deck.

[D][C][C] Gunk Shot: 80 damage. Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Poisoned.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 3

Rating: 1|5 – I would not run this for the Trashalanche synergy in Standard
Search: 3|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], etc.
Value: 2|5 – Big deck space commitment, trades reasonably with your opponent’s deck

In Expanded, this can mill important cards like [card name=”VS Seeker” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]. You can play [card name=”Devolution Spray” set=”Evolutions” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card] to use Alolan Muk’s Ability again.

In Standard, I cannot see any good application for Alolan Muk aside from maybe the Zapdos matchup to discard [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card]. When PokeBeach revealed this card, I heard some discussion about a hypothetical Alolan Muk / Trashalanche [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] deck. In my mind, that deck seems weaker than existing Stage 1 decks. That deck would take longer to ramp up to high damage, offers fewer hit points on its Pokemon, and does not come naturally paired with any Ability Pokemon to improve that archetype’s consistency.

Absol – Darkness – HP100
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Dark Annulment
As long as this Pokemon is in play, your opponent’s Active Basic Pokemon’s Retreat Cost is [C] more.

[D][C][C] Shadow Seeker: 30+ damage. This attack does 30 more damage for each [C] in your opponent’s Active Pokemon’s Retreat Cost.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 5|5 – Great tech as a Basic Pokemon
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 5|5 – Negligible deck space commitment for a powerful Ability

Absol can put a damper on any [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] or Jirachi deck, which could represent a big chunk of the format. I want single deck slots to counter one deck in the format, but Absol looks like it might counter quite a few. Few tech cards offer quite as much matchup coverage as Absol.

Spiritomb – Darkness – HP70
Basic Pokemon

[C] Soul Compressor: Search your deck for up to 4 Pokemon and discard them. Then, shuffle your deck.

[C] Hollow Shot: 20 damage.

Weakness: none
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Rating: 1|5 – Feels too slow for Expanded and not relevant in Standard yet
Search: 4|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] and Nest Ball
Value: 1|5 – Filler

Zorua – Darkness – HP60
Basic Pokemon

[D] Hide in Darkness: Switch this Pokemon with 1 of your Benched Pokemon.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 4|5 – Marginal replacement for Zorua in Unit Energy decks
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball, Nest Ball, and [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 1|5 – Filler

Zoroark – Darkness – HP110
Stage 1 – Evolves from Zorua

[D] Taunt: Switch 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon with their Active Pokemon.

[D][C][C] Night Punish: 20x damage. This attack does 20 damage times the number of Pokemon in your discard pile, to a maximum of 10 cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 2

Rating: 2|5 – Underwhelming
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc
Value: 2|5 – Fragile, requires multiple attachments, limiting damage cap

I dislike this Zoroark’s damage cap. 200 damage does not feel like that much anymore. Compare this to [card name=”Granbull” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] or Aerodactyl. It may hit for more damage, but it takes significantly longer to set up, and possesses less HP. The 200 damage cap feels a bit dated. I need to commit much more deck space and setup time on this Zoroark than other single-Prize Stage 1 Pokemon, and I would want a better payoff than about 20 more damage than Aerodactyl for that.

Yveltal – Darkness – HP110
Basic Pokemon

[D] Derail: 30 damage. Discard a Special Energy from your opponent’s Active Pokemon.

[D][D] Clutch: 60 damage. Your opponent’s Active Pokemon can’t retreat during your opponent’s next turn.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 0

Rating: 3|5 – Might fail to find its niche in decks at this moment
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 4|5 – Comparable to Tapu Koko

This feels like a much more situational version of [card name=”Tapu Koko” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM30″ c=”name”][/card]. More decks run [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] than Darkness Energy, and almost any deck can appreciate math fixing whereas fewer decks appreciate Special Energy removal. Yveltal does offer a bit of synergy as a Dark-type Pokemon though, notably with Black Market Prism Star.

Hoopa-GX – Darkness – HP190
Basic Pokemon

[D] Rogue Ring: Search your deck for up to 2 cards and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.

[D][D][D] Dark Strike: 160 damage. This Pokemon can’t use Dark Strike during your next turn.

[D][D][D] Devil Hand GX: Choose 6 of your opponent’s Pokemon-GX and Pokemon-EX and do 30 damage to each of those Pokemon. (You may choose the same Pokemon more than once.) (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 3

Rating: 3|5 – I like Rogue Ring
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and Nest Ball
Value: 3|5 – Baseline stats for the current format

Dark Strike and Devil Hand GX both feel a year behind in terms of power creep, and far too expensive given the lack of Darkness Energy acceleration in the Standard format. I think if Hoopa-GX sees play, people will use it primarily for the Rogue Ring attack. It might search one less card than [card name=”Sylveon-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], but it consumes one less deck slot.

Incineroar-GX – Darkness – HP250
Stage 2 – Evolves from Torracat

Ability: Scar Charge
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may put 3 damage counters on this Pokemon. If you do, search your deck for up to 3 [D] Energy and attach them to this Pokemon. Then, shuffle your deck.

[C][C][C] Crushing Punch: 130 damage. Discard a Special Energy from your opponent’s Active Pokemon.

[C][C][C] Darkest Tornado GX: 10+ damage. This attack does 50 more damage for each damage counter on this Pokemon. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 3

Rating: 2|5 – Gets hit with collateral damage by answers people run for Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
Search: 3|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], etc.
Value: 2|5 – Feels too weak to carry a game versus anything except [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]

Metal Pokemon

Jirachi – Metal – HP70
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Wishing Star
If this Pokemon is your Active Pokemon, you may use this Ability. Once during your turn (before your attack), you may look at the top 5 cards of your deck. Choose 1 Trainer card you find there, reveal it and put it into your hand. Shuffle the other cards back into your deck. This Pokemon is now Asleep.

[M][C] Slap: 30 damage.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 5|5 – Already proven good in Japan, will see lots of play
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 4|5 – Free [card name=”Trainers’ Mail” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card] every turn, but does require some deck space commitment for multiple [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card]

Like the Garbotoxin [card name=”Garbodor” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] analogy from the introduction, Jirachi uses up a lot of deck spaces. Most decks would run two to four Jirachi and three to four Escape Board. For a deck like [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card], this represents a smaller relative loss as Malamar already wants to run Escape Board. For other decks like [card name=”Buzzwole” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] / Garbodor / [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card], the inclusion of Escape Board feels much more expensive.

However, unlike Garbotoxin Garbodor, Jirachi improves consistency rather than provide a tech for certain matchups. Consistency typically requires a lot of deck slots to set up in this game, whereas you can often find a single card tech to swing certain matchups. I accept heavy deck space commitments for consistency more readily than for tech cards.

Bronzor – Metal – HP50
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Head Start Evolution
This Pokemon can evolve on the second player’s first turn or on the turn you play it.

[M][C] Tackle: 20 damage.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 1|5 – Useless in Standard, but could this make [card name=”Bronzong” set=”XY Black Star Promos” no=”XY21″ c=”name”][/card] viable in Expanded?
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball and Jasmine
Value: 5|5 – One of the best evolving Basic Pokemon

Could Bronzor make Bronzong viable in Expanded? I think yes, but not tier one. If your opponent goes first, they can disrupt Bronzor with [card name=”Wobbuffet” set=”Radiant Collection 2″ no=”RC11″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Sudowoodo” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”66″ c=”name”][/card]. If your opponent cannot disrupt Bronzor in any way, then you might gain the opportunity to set up a massive board. With [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Shaymin-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], and Jasmine, a player could easily set up a turn one baby [card name=”Dialga” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”127″ c=”name”][/card] or potentially a Timeless GX. Considering this takes a tremendous number of cards and Bench space, I doubt Bronzor can usurp too many of the existing tier one archetypes.

Bisharp – Metal – HP110
Stage 1 – Evolves from Pawniard

[M] Dual Stab: 30+ damage. If this Pokemon doesn’t have any damage counters on it, this attack does 90 more damage.

[M][C][C] Power Edge: 90 damage.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 2

Rating: 2|5 – Too weak to make its own archetype right now, awkward to tech into other decks
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc.
Value: 2|5 – Lots of small issues: low HP, weak to spread, cannot use [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card]

Cobalion-GX – Metal – HP170
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Metal Symbol
As long as this Pokemon is in play, your Pokemon with [M] Energy attached can’t be affected by Special Conditions. Remove all Special Conditions on those Pokemon.

[M][M] Duel Saber: 50+ damage. If there is a Stadium card in play, this attack does 60 more damage.

[C] Iron Law GX: During your opponent’s next turn, none of your opponent’s Pokemon can attack (including newly played Pokemon). (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 1

Rating: 4|5 – Worthwhile for the GX attack alone
Search: 5|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], and Jasmine
Value: 4|5 – Good Ability and good GX attack, a two-for-one deal on a deck slot

For a single Colorless Energy, you can buy your deck a turn. If nothing else, a stall deck could abuse this. Setup decks can appreciate the GX attack. Cobalion wants to partner with Ability Pokemon that can capitalize on the extra free turn like [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card]. Something like [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] can appreciate an extra turn to set up, or [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card] to synergize with the Ability and Energy cost. Either way, this card can get splashed in so many decks, I expect it to find a home in several of them.

Doublade – Metal – HP90
Stage 1 – Evolves from Honedge

[C][C] Tool Drop: 30x damage. This attack does 30 damage times the number of Pokemon Tools in play (both yours and your opponent’s).

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 2

Rating: 2|5 – Expensive glass cannon
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball and Jasmine
Value: 2|5 – Fragile and remarkably card hungry

Doublade can hit Zoroark-GX for a OHKO, but it would struggle against the bulkier Tag Team Pokemon-GX in the upcoming set. Additionally, it needs an enormous number of cards to set up. A full board with a single Doublade and a [card name=”Double Colorless” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] takes about 14 cards. Compare that to the eight to ten cards I would need to set up a [card name=”Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM58″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] in Malamar with three Energy. On top of that, you need to replace four cards when you lose a Doublade: two for a Stage 1 Pokemon, one for another Double Colorless Energy, and another for a Tool. Once again, compare that to the almost one card it takes to replace an attacker in a Malamar deck or about two to replace a Malamar.

Doublade fails the value test in my book, so if it sees play, it needs to run a draw engine. Without notable Tool recovery like [card name=”Eco Arm” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card], I question whether Zoroark-GX would fit the bill. You might want to play Doublade with Pidgeotto instead, but then you’d need to fit two Stage 1 lines with a ton of Tool cards. I do not think you can realistically build a consistent deck this way.

Aegislash – Metal – HP140
Stage 2 – Evolves from Doublade

Ability: Royal Guard
This Pokemon takes 40 less damage from attacks.

[M][C][C] Shield Bash: 100 damage. This attack’s damage isn’t affected by effects on your opponent’s Active Pokemon.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 3

Rating: 1|5 – I would prefer consistency
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and Jasmine
Value: 1|5 – Huge deck space commitment for an already thick deck. All you get is HP.

An existing Doublade deck already needs to commit a lot of slots to Tools. Adding Aegislash means adding [card name=”Shining Celebi” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM79″ c=”name”][/card] and basic Metal Energy. In my mind, that translates to about eight deck slots. An eight deck slot tech line basically needs to transform your deck into a tier one archetype, and Aegislash does not do that.

Klefki – Metal – HP60
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Secret Key
As long as this Pokemon is in play, your [M] Pokemon’s Resistance becomes -40.

[M][C] Collide: 30 damage.

Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 2

Rating: 2|5 – Good tech vs. Malamar, especially if you run single-Prize Pokemon
Search: 5|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], and Jasmine
Value: 2|5 – [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] typically wants to attack with [card name=”Marshadow-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card]

Against Metal Pokemon-GX, Malamar will attack with Marshadow-GX. In this scenario, you could use single-Prize Metal-type Pokemon to swing the Prize race against Marshadow-GX. But in turn, Malamar could respond to single-Prize Metal-type Pokemon with Eevee & Snorlax-GX. In which case, maybe this card only works on bulky, single-Prize, Basic Metal-type Pokemon. A single-Prize Basic Pokemon tech against Malamar feels valuable, but the card currently lacks a home, and Malamar might possess enough alternate-type attackers to play around Klefki anyways.

Colorless Pokemon

Eevee & Snorlax-GX – Colorless – HP270
Basic Pokemon (TAG TEAM)

[C] Cheer Up: Attach an Energy card from your hand to 1 of your Pokemon.

[C][C][C][C] Dump Truck Press: 120+ damage. If your opponent’s Active Pokemon is an Evolution Pokemon, this attack does 120 more damage.

[C][C][C][C]+ Megaton Friends GX: 210 damage. If this Pokemon has at least 1 extra Energy attached to it (in addition to this attack’s cost), draw cards until you have 10 cards in your hand. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your TAG TEAM is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 3 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 4

Rating: 5|5 – Strong, bulky, splashable
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and Nest Ball
Value: 5|5 – Huge HP, hits hard, lots of utility attacks, Basic Pokemon

Normally, I would rate high-Energy-cost Pokemon at four out of five, but Eevee & Snorlax-GX possesses enough HP to survive long enough to take two big Knock Outs with all that Energy. Its attacks deal so much damage that you can forego [card name=”Choice Band” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]. With a purely Colorless attack cost, it can fit in any deck with Energy acceleration. This should make it difficult to play [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] in our format, at least not without a reliable Fighting-type response.

You could run this with Marshadow-GX to mitigate the Prize cost, but at 270 HP I think you would frequently want to front Eevee & Snorlax-GX itself as an attacker against Zoroark. Something like Marshadow-GX dies in a single hit and Malamar can struggle to replace four Energy in a single turn.

Pidgeotto – Colorless – HP60
Stage 1 – Evolves from Pidgey

Ability: Air Mail
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may look at the top 2 cards of your deck. Choose 1 of them and put it into your hand. Put the other card on the bottom of your deck.

[C][C] Gust: 30 damage.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 1

Overall: 4|5 – The idea of using 2-3 Air Mail a turn feels powerful
Search: 5|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 2|5 – No useful attack, fragile

I always rate Stage 1 consistency cards well. Pidgeotto does not feel as strong as a one-of compared to something like [card name=”Zebstrika” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”82″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card]. Similar to Zoroark-GX, you could set up a lot of Pidgeotto and their Abilities stack well with one another.

Individually, each Pidgeotto does not offer a lot of value. I would not want to commit a precious [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] to something so fragile and marginal. I could imagine a deck with 4-4 Pidgeotto line and four copies of Professor Elm’s Lecture to back up some other primary attacker, but, right now, I do not know what it partners with.

Pidgeot – Colorless – HP130
Stage 2 – Evolves from Pidgeotto

[C][C] Whirlwind: 60 damage. Your opponent switches their Active Pokemon with 1 of their Benched Pokemon.

[C][C][C] Spin Storm: Your opponent puts their Active Pokemon and all of the cards attached to it into their hand.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 0

Overall: 1|5 – Niche/Filler
Search: 3|5 – [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], etc.
Value: 2|5 – Spin Storm could offer a neat tool for a Pidgeotto engine, but takes a ton of cards to pull it off

Persian – Colorless – HP100
Stage 1 – Evolves from Meowth

[C] Make ‘Em Pay: 20 damage. If your opponent has more than 4 cards in their hand, they reveal their hand. Discard cards you find there until your opponent has exactly 4 cards in their hand.

[C][C] Sharp Claws: 30 damage. Flip a coin. If heads, this attack does 60 more damage.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Overall: 5|5 – Powerful Stage 1 tech
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball, etc.
Value: 5|5 – Swings some matchups like HAND [card name=”Unown” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card], huge potential to trade card advantage

I feel like Persian can win games for you. If your opponent takes two Prizes, they would need to put themselves down to two cards before taking that KO to protect themselves from Persian. And when they do that, they implicitly sacrifice their card advantage anyway.

It feels similar to [card name=”Delinquent” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] in Expanded. For a minimal card commitment on your end, you could potentially discard several of the most valuable cards in your opponent’s hand, and possibly stall them out for several turns. And if you do stall them out, you can keep spamming Make ‘Em Pay until they finally draw out of it.

I think it’s more fair than Delinquent, but a fairer version of Delinquent deserves attention in Standard. I rate Persian high in the Value department, and that alone should push Persian into many [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks.

Farfetch’d – Colorless – HP80
Basic Pokemon

[C] Collect: Draw 2 cards.

[C] Item Repel: 20+ damage. Before doing damage, discard all Pokemon Tool cards attached to the opponent’s Active Pokemon. If you discard any cards, this attack does 70 more damage.

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 1

Overall: 1|5 – Filler
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 3|5 – Few cards can hit 90 damage for one Colorless Energy, but it does not do enough

Tauros – Colorless – HP130
Basic Pokemon

[C][C] Raging Herd: 10+ damage. This attack does 10 more damage for each damage counter on all of your Tauros (including Tauros-GX) in play.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

Overall: 1|5 – Filler
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and Nest Ball
Value: 1|5 – Tauros and [card name=”Tauros-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”100″ c=”name”][/card] do not possess enough HP to make this strategy work right now

Aerodactyl – Colorless – HP130
Stage 1 – Evolves from Unidentified Fossil

[C] Supersonic: Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Confused.

[C][C][C] Fossil Fang: 90+ damage. If you have no Pokemon GX or EX on your Bench, this attack does 90 more damage.

Weakness: Lighting (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 1

Overall: ?|5 – Hard to evaluate a Jirachi / Fossil engine this early on
Search: 3|5 – Ultra Ball
Value: 3|5 – Glass Cannon, needs to hit the right numbers

Unlike other Stage 1 Pokemon, Aerodactyl utilizes [card name=”Unidentified Fossil” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”116″ c=”name”][/card]. This provides a consistency boost in Jirachi focused decks, as it causes you to start Jirachi more often, potentially with Jirachi exclusively.

I evaluate Aerodactyl with an average value rating. Can Aerodactyl trade well against the field? It hits hard enough against Stage 1 Pokemon-GX like [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card]. Pokemon such as [card name=”Gardevoir-GX” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card] and Pikachu & Zekrom-GX come into range after a few ticks of [card name=”Shrine of Punishment” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card]. At the same time, the mediocre 130 HP translates to Aerodactyl getting Knocked Out after each attack. Between that and the three Energy cost, I would not expect to set up six Aerodactyl over the course of a game. As such, Aerodactyl needs to take more than one Prize with each attack, and it certainly can given the right field. I could see Aerodactyl struggle against bulkier Pokemon-GX like Venusaur & Celebi-GX or decks that can spam lots of single-Prize attackers like [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card].

You could shore up the Malamar matchup by running your own Malamar line and your own [card name=”Giratina” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], but you would set up far less consistently than a dedicated Malamar deck. I would rather run Tapu Koko Prism Star, as it offers a similar effect to Malamar for significantly fewer deck slots. It will not allow you to set up quite as many Aerodactyl over the course of the game, but I feel I would not want to play Aerodactyl in a format where it cannot take two-Prize OHKOs anyways.

Numbers aside, Aerodactyl’s usage of Unidentified Fossil intrigues me the most. It enables you to start with the new Jirachi more often, and that could significantly improve the deck’s consistency. I cannot say whether the consistency synergy between Jirachi and Unidentified Fossil can make the deck great, but I want to withhold judgement until I and others I know get some playtesting in with it.

Eevee-GX – Colorless – HP160
Basic Pokemon

Ability: Reviving DNA
Once during your turn (before your attack), if you have a card that evolves from Eevee in your hand, you may play it on top of this Pokemon to evolve it (excluding your first turn or the turn this Pokemon comes into play). If you do, heal all damage from this Pokemon.

[C][C][C] Boost Dash: 100 damage.

[C] Happy Maker GX: Search your discard pile for 3 cards, show them to your opponent, and put them into your hand. (You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)

When your Pokemon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Overall: 1|5 – Why run this over [card name=”Ditto Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]?
Search: 4|5 – Ultra Ball and Nest Ball
Value: 3|5 – The GX attack offers an extra tool that regular [card name=”Eevee” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”101″ c=”name”][/card] do not

I do not expect any decks to run more than five ways to evolve from Eevee, at least not in Standard. You could replace one Eevee with this card to gain access to the GX attack without sacrificing a deck slot, but that feels both risky and marginal.

Trainers

Judge Whistle – Trainer
Item

Choose 1:

– Draw a card.

– Put a Judge card from your discard pile into your hand.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – I would rather run more techs
Search: 1|5 – Not a card you want to search for anyway
Value: 3|5 – Lets you play a 56 card deck

The idea of running a 56 card deck sounds enticing, but I would value other consistency tools or tech cards over a Judge Whistle. Adding a card that can search out other cards from your deck do more for consistency than a single “draw one” effect would. That includes cards such as [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card], Ultra Ball, or [card name=”Professor Elm’s Lecture” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card]. Many decks struggle to fit extra tech cards to swing that extra matchup or two. Decks like [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] want to find room for that one extra tech slot. As such, I would only want to run Judge Whistle in some aggressive self-mill archetype like Venusaur & Celebi-GX.

Water Memory – Trainer
Item

Pokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to 1 of your Pokemon that doesn’t already have a Pokemon Tool attached to it.

The Silvally-GX this card is attached to is a [W] Pokemon.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 1|5 – [card name=”Silvally-GX” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”90″ c=”name”][/card] never saw play
Search: 2|5 – [card name=”Adventure Bag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] and Fairy [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 1|5 – Tool cards do not swing matchups as hard as Pokemon due to their poor searchability

Grass Memory – Trainer
Item

Pokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to 1 of your Pokemon that doesn’t already have a Pokemon Tool attached to it.

The Silvally-GX this card is attached to is a [G] Pokemon.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 1|5 – Silvally never saw play
Search: 2|5 – Adventure Bag and Fairy Alolan Ninetales-GX
Value: 1|5 – Tool cards do not swing matchups as hard as Pokemon due to their poor searchability

Fairy Charm UB – Trainer
Item

Pokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to 1 of your Pokemon that doesn’t already have a Pokemon Tool attached to it.

Prevent all damage done to the [Y] Pokemon this card is attached to by attacks from your opponent’s Ultra Beast Pokemon-GX and Ultra Beast Pokemon-EX.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – [card name=”Blacephalon-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] may fall out of favor for Zapdos
Search: 4|5 – Fairy Alolan Ninetales-GX
Value: 4|5 – Swings a notable matchup for a single deck slot

I currently do not expect decks to want a copy of Fairy Charm UB. Blacephalon-GX saw less play in Japan due to a suboptimal Zapdos matchup. Likewise, some Fairy decks such as Zoroark-GX / Alolan Ninetales-GX / [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card] struggle against Lightning archetypes and need to commit their tech slots to dealing with Pikachu & Zekrom-GX.

Despite that, I consider the card strong and believe it could become relevant in the future if Pokemon prints more powerful Ultra Beast Pokemon-GX. We know our May set contains a Buzzwole & Pheromosa-GX, after all.

Pokemon Communication – Trainer
Item

Reveal a Pokemon in your hand and put it on top of your deck. If you do, search your deck for a Pokemon, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack)

Overall: 5|5 – Old staple, great for Zoroark and Lost March
Search: 2|5 – Not very searchable, but doesn’t need to be — it is the search tool itself
Value: 5|5 – A bit worse in Standard due to smaller hand sizes, but powerful

Buff Padding – Trainer
Item

Pokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to 1 of your Pokemon that doesn’t already have a Pokemon Tool attached to it.

If the Pokemon this card is attached to has a Retreat Cost of [C][C][C][C], its maximum HP is increased by 50.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – I see no immediate application. Does not change math on bulky Tag Team Pokemon-GX
Search: 1|5 – Adventure Bag
Value: 3|5 – Average stats for a defensive Tool

Erika’s Hospitality – Trainer
Supporter

If you have 6 or more cards in your hand (including this one), you can’t play this card.

Draw a number of cards up to the number of your opponent’s Pokemon in play.

You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 5|5 – New staple Supporter
Search: 3|5 – Tapu Lele-GX
Value: 5|5 – Big hands win games

Compared to [card name=”Cynthia” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card], Erika’s Hospitality can give you four more cards of hand advantage in a [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] mirror, and that kind of card advantage can win you games. Against a deck with a thin Bench, like Zapdos, you should draw three to four cards, enough for a Zoroark-GX variant to win with.

I think the potential upside outweighs any issues this card might pose on, say, turn one, or against certain archetypes. I expect most decks run one to two copies.

Ingo & Emmet – Trainer
Supporter

Look at the top card of your deck, and then choose 1:

– Discard your hand and draw 5 cards.

– Discard your hand and draw 5 cards from the bottom of your deck.

You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – Worse than Sightseer
Search: 3|5 – [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 2|5 – The option to look at one card feels marginal

Brock’s Grit – Trainer
Supporter

Shuffle six in any combination of Pokemon and basic Energy cards from your discard pile into your deck.

You can only use 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – Slower than [card name=”Energy Recycler” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], but more more searchable and slightly more powerful
Search: 3|5 – Tapu Lele-GX
Value: 2|5 – Reasonable option for [card name=”Vikavolt” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Rayquaza-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card]

Bill’s Analysis – Trainer
Supporter

Look at the top 7 cards of your deck. You may reveal up to 2 Trainer cards you find there and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle the other cards back into your deck.

You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – Would not run over Erika’s Hospitality
Search: 3|5 – Tapu Lele-GX
Value: 2|5 – Similar effect to Jirachi and Fairy [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card], but much slower

In order to search any Supporter reliably, you need to bench a Tapu Lele-GX, run four copies of that Supporter, or run a draw engine like Zoroark-GX. Using a Tapu Lele-GX for Bill’s Analysis feels like a weak use of Bench space compared to using either Jirachi or Fairy Alolan Ninetales-GX instead.

Lavender Town – Trainer
Stadium

Once during each player’s turn (before their attack), that player may have their opponent reveal their hand.

This card stays in play when you play it. Discard this card if another Stadium card comes into play. If another card with the same name is in play, you can’t play this card.

Overall: 2|5 – Not relevant right now, but maybe later
Search: 1|5 – Almost unsearchable
Value: 1|5 – This set did not print enough cards to synergize with the effect

We already know Pokemon intends to print more cards that work based on the cards in your opponent’s hand. I imagine they will continue printing cards like those as they gradually continue to push the archetype. Similar to how Lost March should improve as Pokemon releases more sets, I expect Lavender Town to improve in the future, though it may never become a tier one archetype.

Sabrina’s Suggestion – Trainer
Supporter

Your opponent reveals their hand. You may choose a Supporter card you find there and use the effect of that card as the effect of this card.

You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – Not relevant right now, but maybe later
Search: 1|5 – Almost unsearchable
Value: 1|5 – This set did not print enough cards to synergize with the effect

Your opponent’s Supporters work better for their deck than in yours. You would need to value hand knowledge highly to justify this Supporter. With Lavender Town, Sabrina’s Suggestion could become worthwhile if Pokemon pushes the mechanic, but I think they would need to push it quite hard to make it relevant.

Viridian Forest – Trainer
Stadium

Once during each player’s turn, that player may discard a card from their hand. If they do, that player searches their deck for a basic Energy card, reveals it, and puts it into their hand. Then, that player shuffles their deck.

This card stays in play when you play it. Discard this card if another Stadium card comes into play. If another card with the same name is in play, you can’t play this card.

Overall: 4|5 – Amazing consistency boost, but helps your opponent
Search: 1|5 – Almost unsearchable
Value: 3|5 – Gives many decks a viable counter Stadium, thins hand for [card name=”Lillie” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], provides a discard sink

This becomes an auto-include in both [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and Pikachu & Zekrom archetypes, as they both want to draw a lot of Energy and sometimes put other cards into their discard pile. However, most decks run basic Energy and this helps your opponent draw into theirs as well. In the Malamar vs. [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] matchups, Malamar can steal wins when Zoroark-GX whiffs Energy, but Viridian Forest removes that possibility. Against Lightning decks, playing Viridian Forest makes it easier for your opponent to set up their Tapu Koko Prism Star turn or power up their next Zapdos.

Electrocharger – Trainer
Item

Flip 2 coins. For each heads, shuffle an Electropower card from your discard pile into your deck.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – I’d rather run a Resource Management [card name=”Oranguru” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card]
Search: 2|5 – Jirachi
Value: 2|5 – Does not put them back into hand

Dangerous Drill – Trainer
Item

You can play this card only if you discard a [D] Pokemon from your hand.

Discard a Pokemon Tool or Special Energy card from 1 of your opponent’s Pokemon, or discard any Stadium card in play.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 4|5 – Likely include in Zoroark variants
Search: 2|5 – Fairy [card name=”Alolan Ninetales-GX” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 5|5 – Could replace [card name=”Field Blower” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] for a single deck slot

I would love to run a copy of this in Zoroark-GX / Alolan Ninetales-GX / [card name=”Decidueye-GX” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”12″ c=”name”][/card]. I rarely need both Field Blower and Enhanced Hammer in any given matchup, only one or the other. This frees up a deck slot that could swing another matchup. I absolutely expect this card to see play in Zoroark-GX variants.

Metal Goggles – Trainer
Item

Pokemon Tool: Attach a Pokemon Tool to 1 of your Pokemon that doesn’t already have a Pokemon Tool attached to it.

The [M] Pokemon this card is attached to takes 30 less damage from your opponent’s Pokemon’s attacks, and your opponent’s Pokemon’s attacks and Abilities can’t put damage counters on it.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 3|5 – I prefer [card name=”Metal Frying Pan” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]
Search: 2|5 – Jirachi and [card name=”Adventure Bag” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 3|5 – Comparable to Metal Frying Pan

I spoke to Clifton Goh, as he already started playtesting for Oceania Internationals. He says Decidueye-GX loses to a Zapdos / Pikachu & Zekrom-GX archetype. I question whether Decidueye-GX decks can remain relevant in the upcoming format.

I would run Metal Frying Pan if I wanted to play a Metal archetype. Neither card solves [card name=”Metagross-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”85″ c=”name”][/card]’s issues with weak draw power and mediocre damage output, however.

Nanu – Trainer
Supporter

Choose a Basic [D] Pokemon in your discard pile. Switch it with 1 of your Pokemon in play. Any attached cards, damage counters, Special Conditions, turns in play, and any other effects remain in the new Pokemon.

You can only use 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 3|5 – Solid tool, but feels a bit slow for the current power creep
Search: 3|5 – [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 4|5 – Stronger than [card name=”Ninja Boy” set=”Steam Siege” no=”103″ c=”name”][/card]

You can use this card to remove a Tapu Lele-GX and replace it with a [card name=”Zorua” set=”Shining Legends” no=”52″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Sneasel” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card], or [card name=”Alolan Grimer” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], effectively fixing your board state and recovering a resource at the same time. Effects like these can put in a lot of work if you need to build the right kind of board state to win. Unfortunately, with Pikachu & Zekrom-GX in the format, [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] decks feel much squishier than before and I question whether you can build a deck that wins off of board state enough to justify Nanu in a tier-one archetype.

Jasmine – Trainer
Supporter

Search your deck for a [M] Pokemon, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you go second and it’s your first turn, you can search your deck for 5 [M] Pokemon instead. of 1. Then shuffle your deck.

You can only use 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 4|5 – Most relevant for Doublade in Standard
Search: 3|5 – Tapu Lele-GX
Value: 4|5 – Easily worth a single copy in the right Metal archetype

I like Jasmine as a card, but dislike most Metal attackers in our current format. [card name=”Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX” set=”Sun and Moon Black Star Promos” no=”SM102″ c=”name”][/card] does not hit hard enough against many Tag Team Pokemon-GX and Doublade feels card-inefficient. In my mind, Metagross-GX offers the most potential over the others, as it can tank many of the new heavy hitters in the format, notably Pikachu & Zekrom-GX and Eevee & Snorlax-GX

Morgan – Trainer
Supporter

This card can’t be played unless you discard Dana, Evelyn, and Nita from your hand.

Look at the top 12 cards of your deck. Attach as many Energy cards you find there to your Pokemon in any way you like. Then, shuffle the remaining cards into your deck.

You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 1|5 – Filler
Search: 3|5 – Tapu Lele-GX
Value: 1|5 – Enormous deck space requirement

Dana – Trainer
Supporter

This card can’t be played unless your opponent’s Active Pokemon is a Stage 2 Pokemon.

Search your deck for 2 cards and put them into your hand.

You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – The best Battle Chatelaine in my opinion, but mediocre
Search: 3|5 – Tapu Lele-GX
Value: 2|5 – Powerful effect, but potentially a big deck space requirement

I can see players using Dana in two ways. First to search out tech cards for a Stage 2 matchup, and second to slightly improve your consistency against a Stage 2 matchup. I dislike the former because it demands additional tech card slots in addition to Dana. I dislike the latter because I do not believe a single copy of Dana can swing a matchup enough to warrant a deck slot.

Evelyn – Trainer
Supporter

You can play this card only if your opponent’s Active Pokemon is a Stage 1 Pokemon.

Draw 4 cards.

You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 1|5 – Filler
Search: 3|5 – [card name=”Tapu Lele-GX” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card]
Value: 1|5 – Mediocre draw power and too situational

Nita – Trainer
Supporter

You can play this card only if your opponent’s Active Pokemon is a Basic Pokemon.

Put an Energy from your opponent’s Active Pokemon on top of their deck.

You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn (before your attack).

Overall: 2|5 – Too niche to see play right now
Search: 3|5 – Tapu Lele-GX
Value: 2|5 – Basic Pokemon requirement feels too restrictive

I like the design of Nita. Putting the Energy on top of the deck discourages its use in stall archetypes. I wish Pokemon designed more of their cards in this way.

Unfortunately, Nita’s Basic Pokemon requirement makes it feel too niche. Few decks aside from [card name=”Zoroark-GX” set=”Shining Legends” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] can utilize a Supporter like [card name=”Team Flare Grunt” set=”Generations” no=”73″ c=”name”][/card] or Nita effectively. At the same time, Zoroark-GX can Knock Out most Basic Pokemon with [card name=”Professor Kukui” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. This trend should change as more Tag Team Pokemon-GX come out, but most Tag Team Pokemon-GX use some sort of Energy Acceleration anyway. For the St. Louis metagame, I could see Nita helping against Venusaur & Celebi-GX, but not much else.

Wondrous Labyrinth Prism Star – Trainer
Stadium

You can’t have more than 1 Prism Star card with the same name in your deck. If a Prism Star card would go to the discard pile, put it in the Lost Zone instead.

The attacks of non-[Y] Pokemon (both yours and your opponent’s) cost [C] more.

Whenever any player plays an Item or Supporter card from their hand, prevent all effects of that card done to this Stadium card.

Overall: 4|5 – More resource pressure from stall decks
Search: 1|5 – Almost unsearchable
Value: 5|5 – Single deck slot tech, threatens to win games

This card makes the biggest impact in stall decks. I do not see stall archetypes going anywhere with this set and this card forces your opponent to manage yet another resource. Of all the Prism Star Stadiums, Wondrous Labyrinth possesses the greatest potential to win games by itself.

Thank goodness they printed Viridian Forest in this set so more decks can run counter Stadiums without sacrificing consistency.

Black Market Prism Star – Trainer
Stadium

You can’t have more than 1 Prism Star card with the same name in your deck. If a Prism Star card would go to the discard pile, put it in the Lost Zone instead.

When a [D] Pokemon (yours or your opponent’s) that has any [D] Energy attached to it is Knocked Out by damage from an opponent’s attack, that player takes 1 fewer Prize card.

Whenever any player plays an Item or Supporter card from their hand, prevent all effects of that card done to this Stadium card.

This card stays in play when you play it. Discard this card if another Stadium card comes into play. If another card with the same name is in play, you can’t play this card.

Overall: 3|5 – Could swing certain matchups
Search: 1|5 – Almost unsearchable
Value: 3|5 – Big deck space commitment, opponents can play around it

Though Black Market Prism Star offers a powerful effect, I think it requires too much to work. Few decks in Standard naturally run both Darkness Energy and Darkness-type Pokemon. It offers a few too many counter-play options for your opponents in my opinion. In addition to removing the Stadium, your opponents can [card name=”Guzma” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card] around it, remove the Energy, or take Prizes with damage counters.

In Expanded this fits most naturally with a [card name=”Sableye” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card] or Turbo [card name=”Darkrai-EX” set=”BREAKpoint” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] archetype, but I think Zoroark-GX Control outclasses Sableye and I do not believe Black Market Prism Star alone could make Turbo Darkrai-EX competitive.

Conclusion

Phew, what a long set review. I expect most of you already read some set reviews before this one, so I hope my focus on Search and Value help you in your deck building in the future. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask me on the Subscriber’s Hideout.

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