Darkness Ablaze Analysis – A Set Better Suited for Expanded?

Hello everyone! With Darkness Ablaze and this season’s rotation just around the corner, I thought I’d give my take on the new set and analyze how it will help kick off the next format. Like any set, Darkness Ablaze has a few clear winners, but it’s not always apparent how some of these cards will be played. Additionally, there are some cards I believe to be overrated or overlooked, and I’ll talk about those ones as well. Just because I call some cards overlooked or overrated does not mean I think the overlooked cards are better than the overrated ones. Overall, I find Darkness Ablaze to be quite underwhelming despite it having a few powerful cards. We must also consider the rotation, which cycles out Ultra Prism, Forbidden Light, Celestial Storm, and Lost Thunder. Although there is one online tournament that will use Darkness Ablaze in a pre-rotation format, I’m going to analyze everything in a post-rotation context because that’s likely more relevant for a majority of people.

Generally, I’m unimpressed with the Pokemon of this set. There are some oddballs such as Corviknight, Vanilluxe, Rhyperior V, and Mew V that may be worth keeping an eye out for the future, but they aren’t going to do anything right now. There are some neat setup Pokemon such as Starly and Wishiwashi, but they get invalidated by Marnie. Most of the Pokemon VMAX are uninteresting. They all have high-HP and high damage output, but not enough of either to stand out. All of the Trainers are interesting at the very least, and we got a few insane ones with Turbo Patch and Cape of Toughness. However, there’s nothing here worthy of being called a staple; even Turbo Patch is deck specific. Overall, the array of Trainers in the set is a little underwhelming. However, this set knocked it out of the park with the Special Energy. Although type specific, all three of the Special Energy cards are incredible.

Winners

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Decidueye

Decidueye is much like [card name=”Galarian Obstagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card]. Decidueye’s invincibility to Pokemon-GX and V is arguably more powerful than Obstagoon’s immunity to Basic Pokemon. Although Decidueye is vulnerable to single-Prize attackers, it has immunity against strong new threats such as Eternatus VMAX. Decidueye likely won’t see tons of immediate play, and it can be countered if it does, but it’s sure to see some success during its lifetime.

If you ask me, the best way to play Decidueye is in a deck focused entirely around it. While pivot attackers such as [card name=”Beheeyem” set=”Unified Minds” no=”91″ c=”name”][/card] and the new Greedent may be tempting, they take up tons of space and are extremely susceptible to [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card]. Although we lose [card name=”Counter Gain” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] to the rotation, cards like [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”180″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] are still around, meaning we can play a similar engine to Obstagoon of the pre-rotation format. If decks end up packing answers to Decidueye, it may be feasible to include techs to counter the counters, so to speak.

The new Rowlet is quite interesting as well. If you use Bird Keeper (a mediocre Supporter that draws three cards), Rowlet can attack for free and snipe 60 damage. Although this normally wouldn’t be too important in a deck like this, whose win condition is preventing the opponent from doing anything (rather than racing to six Prizes), Rowlet can help preemptively take care of threats to Decidueye. For example, putting 60 (or even 120) damage on a single-Prize attacker while setting up can make them much easier to deal with later on.

Centiskorch VMAX

Centiskorch VMAX is an interesting, and it clearly has potential. Dealing more damage for each Fire Energy attached to it, it’s one of the few Pokemon capable of OHKOing other Pokemon VMAX. However, it takes seven Fire Energy to reach 320 damage. Heat R Energy and [card name=”Mallow and Lana” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”198″ c=”name”][/card] can supplement Centiskorch’s natural bulk, preserving the heavy investment of Fire Energy that it requires. Its own attack slowly accelerates Energy to itself, and Welder can take care of the rest. Centiskorch VMAX will likely be a successful archetype on its own due to its unlimited damage cap and convenient Fire typing. Charlie Lockyer wrote about pairing Centiskorch with [card name=”Electrode-GX” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”48″ c=”name”][/card] which is one way to go, but not the only way to go. I do think this is the best opportunity for Electrode-GX to shine since its release, so check out that article for a more detailed look at that version.

Centiskorch V (the Basic form) is a little overlooked if you ask me. Its first attack discards Energy off the opponent’s Active, and its HP can be increased to absurd levels with Cape of Toughness and Heat R Energy. Combined with healing and hand disruption, Centiskorch V may be able to succeed on its own as a control deck.

Crobat V

Crobat V is far and away the best Pokemon in the set. Crobat will be a staple in many decks, and it will see lots of play in Expanded as well. Crobat is also a crucial part of the new Eternatus VMAX deck. There isn’t much else to say; Crobat is great.

Hoopa

Hoopa is essentially just a Dark-type version of [card name=”Zapdos” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card]. It goes well with Eternatus VMAX, and it helps take care of single-Prize Pokemon like Mad Party users. It can easily snag a quick KO or two at the beginning of games, and it can soften up (or finish off) large targets for Eternatus VMAX.

Eternatus VMAX

Eternatus VMAX is the most hyped attacker of the set. While I don’t think it’s broken, it’s certainly strong and will be a solid deck on its own. With the Dark-only [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] effect and a [card name=”M Rayquaza-EX” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”76″ c=”name”][/card]-style attack, Eternatus VMAX can easily swing for 270 damage for only two Energy. Although it won’t be OHKOing most Pokemon VMAX even with the help of [card name=”Galarian Zigzagoon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”117″ c=”name”][/card], it easily OHKOs literally everything else. Against other Pokemon VMAX, Hoopa can help out. Eternatus V can hit for 30 damage while accelerating Energy, a useful early game attack that can take out low-HP Pokemon when combined with Galarian Zigzagoon.

Cape of Toughness

Cape of Toughness is one of those clearly strong cards. It gives 50 HP to any non-GX Basic Pokemon. There’s nothing more to say, it’s very good.

Piers

Piers isn’t explosive, but it’s versatile and helps out Dark decks. Piers is better than [card name=”Sonia” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] for Dark decks. It’s one of the few cards that can search for Special Energy. Piers might even be useful in non-Dark decks because of this. It can grab a Special Energy and a Crobat V, making it a pseudo draw Supporter as well. This is another card that may see play in Expanded, as it’s much easier to abuse tech Supporters in that format. I am happy to have a card like this in the game. It’s useful, unique, and balanced.

Turbo Patch

On the other hand, Turbo Patch is one of the most broken Item cards ever printed. It will see tons of play in Standard and Expanded. Any Basic Pokemon with even a semi-awkward attack cost will make use of Turbo Patch: [card name=”Sableye V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”120″ c=”name”][/card], Zacian V, Vikavolt V, and even some Basic forms of Pokemon VMAX may use it before they evolve.

Heat R Energy, Hiding D Energy, and Powerful C Energy

Heat R Energy increases Fire-types’ HP, Hiding D Energy gives Dark Pokemon free Retreat, and Powerful C Energy increases Colorless’s damage output. All three of these cards are exceptionally strong. Powerful Energy may see the least amount of play simply because there aren’t many attackers that can use it, and those that can probably already rely on Triple Acceleration, Twin Energy, or Double Colorless Energy. Heat and Hiding Energy will see tons of play with their respective types.

Overrated

Golisopod

Golisopod has a decent attack, dealing more damage for each Pokemon V and Pokemon-GX an opponent has in play, but it’s a Stage 1 that requires [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card] (or Triple Acceleration Energy). It’s not easy to set up on demand, and opponents can easily play around it. I think Golisopod may be better suited for Expanded, where it’s more likely to deal heavy damage, is easier to set up, and also has access to [card name=”Double Colorless Energy” set=”Next Destinies” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card]. I do not see it making a splash in Standard, especially with how conditional its attack is.

Mad Party

Mad Party is a new archetype created by this set, and it works just like Night March. There are four Mad Party users: Galarian Mr. Rime, Polteageist, Dedenne, and Bunnelby. Mr. Rime is a Stage 1 with an unreasonable attack cost, so it will assume [card name=”Lampent” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card]’s role from Night March. Dedenne has an attack cost of PCC, but it’s a Basic, so it may attack occasionally. Bunnelby is a Basic that can attack for just one Twin Energy, making it the most efficient attacker of the lot. Polteageist is a Stage 1 with the same easy attack cost (fueled by Twin or Triple Acceleration Energy), and its Ability allows you to discard a Mad Party user in exchange for drawing two cards.

In theory, this makes for a single-Prize attacking deck that can OHKO or 2HKO everything for just one Energy attachment, which would be great. However, the Pokemon package alone takes up 20 cards, which is an enormous space commitment. The deck lacks an explosive Item like Battle Compressor in Night March, making the engine a lot slower. Furthermore, it’s not easy to find a Twin Energy on demand, especially with the deck being clunky enough with Pokemon. The deck also loses terribly to [card name=”Dragapult VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”93″ c=”name”][/card], though that deck’s popularity may be threatened by the emergence of Eternatus VMAX. I think Mad Party is decent, but far from Tier 1 material.

Vikavolt V

To be honest, I’m not sure exactly where Vikavolt V will find itself in the meta. Lightning loses most of its support in the rotation, and Item lock isn’t too devastating in Standard. In Expanded, Vikavolt gains access to [card name=”Thunder Mountain Prism Star” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Electropower” set=”Lost Thunder” no=”232″ c=”name”][/card], though it also has to deal with the presence of [card name=”Pokémon Ranger” set=”Steam Siege” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]. Vikavolt is a solid card. Its first attack does some damage and causes Item lock, and its second attack is quite strong. It also has high HP that can be augmented by Cape of Toughness. I don’t see Vikavolt V becoming an immediate threat. It feels out of place right now, and I’m not really sure what to make of it. This is the card that I’m most clueless about, but I’m not expecting anything great from it at the moment.

Familiar Bell

Familiar Bell isn’t necessarily all that hyped, I just think the card is terrible. I would barely consider using it in Mad Party, and I will probably never play it in anything else. Search cards are meant to set up and establish a board state. They are meant to be useful for early-game consistency. Therefore, search cards that only work when some condition is satisfied are generally awful.

Rose and Rose Tower?

Rose and Rose Tower are two cards that go well together, but I’m not sure if they will see much play. Rose accelerates Energy to Pokemon VMAX at the cost of discarding your entire hand, and Rose Tower is a Stadium that draws you out of it. However, the relevant Pokemon VMAX don’t have much need for this combo. Perhaps Rose will be used with [card name=”Inteleon VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card]?

Overlooked

Simisage, Simisear, and Simipour

I’m not going to start off by saying the Simi trio is secretly broken, but they do have some potential – particularly Simisear. I would consider these Pokemon as matchup-specific techs that can be included in any deck that utilizes [card name=”Triple Acceleration Energy” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card]. For one Triple Acceleration Energy, they can hit for 110 as either a Grass-, Fire-, or Water-type. While they won’t be OHKO’ing anything huge, they may be worthwhile techs to handle specific threats (such as [card name=”Zacian V” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card]). I would keep these Pokemon in mind for the Expanded format as well, even though there are no official Expanded events for the foreseeable future. I wish they were just a little bit stronger, perhaps hitting for 150 instead of 110.

Houndoom V

Houndoom can be played alongside [card name=”Welder” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”189″ c=”name”][/card] and / or Turbo Patch. After just one Welder and one attachment, Houndoom V can deal an impressive 200 damage. The one requirement is that one of your Benched Fire Pokemon must have damage. With [card name=”Rainbow Energy” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] rotating, the new Spikemuth Stadium will probably be needed for forced damage placement. Although the conflict with [card name=”Giant Hearth” set=”Unified Minds” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] (or other potential Stadiums) is annoying, Spikemuth is only needed once, and then Houndoom’s attack is live for the rest of the game. Cape of Toughness or Heat R Energy increase Houndoom’s HP, allowing it to survive most attacks, including Zacian V’s Brave Blade. I don’t think Houndoom is amazing, but it certainly isn’t garbage.

Milotic

I think Milotic has an interesting Ability. As a Stage 1, it can heal 20 damage from each of your Pokemon once per turn. I can’t think of a specific application for it right now, but it’s a notable Ability that may become relevant at some point. In Standard, there aren’t many healing options to begin with. I could also see it having use in Expanded at some point, as it’s essentially a superior [card name=”Serperior” set=”Black and White” no=”6″ c=”name”][/card]. Milotic is a card that I’ll definitely keep in the back of my mind.

Arctozolt

Arctozolt is a Stage 1 whose Ability deals two damage counters to opposing Pokemon when they receive Energy attachments. Being one of the few damage modifiers (loosely speaking) in Standard, I could see it being useful. It could also help decks that spread damage, such as Decidueye, [card name=”Weezing” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card], or Dragapult. The biggest issue with Arctozolt is that it evolves from Rare Fossil, which is unsearchable by conventional means. This means it will be difficult to get Arctozolt into play. This is particularly problematic because Arctozolt’s Ability benefits from it being in play as soon, and as long, as possible. Just like Milotic, I think Arctozolt is interesting enough to warrant mention even though it isn’t spectacular.

Galarian Slowbro V

Galarian Slowbro V and Hiding D Energy might replace [card name=”Garbodor” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] in [card name=”Toxtricity VMAX” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”71″ c=”name”][/card] decks. A thin package of Galarian Slowbro V and Hiding D Energy (and possibly more copies of [card name=”Switch” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card]) is less of a space commitment than Garbodor and multiple Stadiums.

Hydreigon

Despite being a Stage 2, I believe Hydreigon has some serious potential due to the partners it can accelerate Dark Energy to. [card name=”Umbreon and Darkrai-GX” set=”Unified Minds” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is one of the few Pokemon that can OHKO Pokemon VMAX (while imposing Item lock as well), and [card name=”Greninja and Zoroark-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card] is another one of those few (though it requires tons of Energy in play). Grimmsnarl VMAX is a behemoth with 330 HP that can hit for 270. Eternatus VMAX offers a Sky Field effect and also hits for 270, though it would limit the player to only Dark-type Pokemon. I’m not convinced that it’s even worth playing either VMAX with Hydreigon, as they are basically Stage 1’s and their limited damage caps make them weaker than the Tag Teams. Although Stage 2 Pokemon are more reasonable with [card name=”Rosa” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”204″ c=”name”][/card] in the format, there remains the concern of quickly finding enough Energy to fuel these monstrous attacks. Hydreigon is definitely something that I am going to work on.

Galarian Stunfisk V

Galarian Stunfisk V is my favorite card in the set. While it may not see much success in Standard, especially with its Fire Weakness, Stunfisk has some potential in Expanded with access to Double Colorless Energy and healing cards like [card name=”Max Potion” set=”Guardians Rising” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Acerola” set=”Burning Shadows” no=”112″ c=”name”][/card]. Its Trapping Bite attack deals 60 damage for CC, and it places 12 damage counters on the opponent’s Active if they attack into it next turn. Stunfisk’s Ability and Cape of Toughness both increase its HP. I could see some sort of tanky Stunfisk deck working, with only [card name=”Lillie’s Poké Doll” set=”Cosmic Eclipse” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Robo Substitute” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench to prevent opponents from easily circumventing Trapping Bite’s effect. That said, I will be trying to make Galarian Stunfisk V work in both formats. It might not end up being great, but it’s very interesting and full of potential.

Big Parasol

Big Parasol notably blocks Dragapult VMAX’s spread damage, making it something that low-HP decks can take advantage of. Of course, if Eternatus VMAX ends up chasing off Dragapult entirely, it won’t be necessary. I am happy to see a card like this in the format though. I’m sure it will find a variety of niche uses as time goes on.

Billowing Smoke

I actually think this card will have a use in hand control decks, even though hand control decks may not be as popular as they once were. From the perspective of a hand control deck, opponents adding Prize cards to their hand after taking a KO is a nuisance, and Billowing Smoke would prevent that from happening. With some luck, it can even mill crucial resources. If a deck were to use many copies of this card, it could entirely prevent opponents from accessing their Prize cards.

Bird Keeper

Bird Keeper is not great, but it’s not bad either. It draws only three cards, but it enables certain attacks such as Rowlet’s, and it also provides a switch effect. The switch effect works well with [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Team Up” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card], especially once [card name=”Escape Board” set=”Ultra Prism” no=”122″ c=”name”][/card] rotates. If you are trying to set up Decidueye (or anything really), Bird Keeper draws cards and enables an extra Stellar Wish (or pivots into Lillie’s Poke Doll). There aren’t many draw Supporter options that allow you to keep your hand, so Bird Keeper may see some play.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading everyone! I hope this review helped give you some idea of what to look out for in the new set. I especially wanted to point out many cards that I feel are going under the radar. Like any set, Darkness Ablaze has lots of interesting cards and a few extremely strong ones, but I feel like it’s one of the weaker sets overall. In the short time before the rotation, Mad Party has [card name=”Mysterious Treasure” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”113″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Acro Bike” set=”Celestial Storm” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], Vikavolt has Thunder Mountain and Electropower, and Mew V has [card name=”Malamar” set=”Forbidden Light” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card]. Once the rotation hits though, the set gets significantly weaker. Crobat V is amazing. Eternatus VMAX and Centiskorch VMAX aren’t going anywhere. And I’m sure we’ll see some surprises from this set as time goes on. Next time you hear from me, I will have significantly more testing in this format and should have one or two in-depth deck reviews. It doesn’t look like in-person tournaments will start up anytime soon, but the community is doing a great job with online tournaments, so in the meantime, check those out through social media!

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