Heavy Is the Head that Wears the Stellar Crown — Set Review
Hello everyone! Stellar Crown has released, and online tournaments are in full swing with the new set. It’s full of interesting cards, and it’s sure to significantly shake up the game. I am a little worried about this set making certain decks too strong, but as always, I’m sure the meta will develop around these decks and things will smooth out eventually. Today I want to take a look at the set and offer my perspective on how these cards will affect the meta. Hopefully this will help provide some direction for testing out the new stuff, as well as prepare you for what you’ll end up facing in tournaments. Let’s get right into it.
Mow Rotom
[card name=”Mow Rotom” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] seems to be an overlooked card from the new set. Its attack is incredibly convenient and easy to use. This card will certainly be handy for control decks, giving them a simple and efficient tech against [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card]. Control actually saw a bit of play at the recent Baltimore Regionals, and it can certainly struggle against Lugia. Mow Rotom is a very low-maintenance, high-efficiency answer. On top of that, it’s easy to recover and use again if it gets KO’d. If you’re worried about [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], you can easily protect it from Amp You Very Much with [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card]. Unfortunately, it runs into the same problem as [card name=”Haxorus” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] in that it doesn’t work against [card name=”Mist Energy ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card], so you’ll sometimes need [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Enhanced Hammer” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] along with the Rotom. Mist Energy counts are going down a little bit, though.
One of the best things about Rotom is that it isn’t exclusively useful against Lugia. You can also use it to discard Energy against the likes of [card name=”Iron Thorns ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”77″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Terapagos ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”128″ c=”name”][/card]. Furthermore, it gets rid of opponents’ Tools, such as [card name=”Gravity Gemstone” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sparkling Crystal” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”142″ c=”name”][/card]. I had written off [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] Control before Baltimore Regionals, yet it had a better showing than I expected. Perhaps the control enthusiasts will continue playing the deck. If they do, I’m certain that Mow Rotom and Temple of Sinnoh will be included if Lugia remains a relevant threat.
Hydrapple ex
[cardimg name=”Hydrapple ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”167″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
On the surface, [card name=”Hydrapple ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”14″ c=”name”][/card] does not seem like anything special. However, I think it actually has a lot going for it. It has obvious synergy with [card name=”Teal Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card], tons of HP, and an attack that can reasonably one-shot anything and everything. Unfortunately, it is a Stage 2 and very high-maintenance. Hydrapple demands a lot of Energy, which can be difficult to manage in a deck that already has to set up a Stage 2 Pokemon. That said, it has some potential as an anti-meta deck. The archetype most likely isn’t strong enough on its own to naturally be a top contender, but it can target some of the perceived frontrunners. [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”54″ c=”name”][/card] is obviously weak to Grass, and Hydrapple is easily capable of one-shotting [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] as well. [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] will be of some concern, but it doesn’t come online until you’ve taken a few Prize cards, and at that point, you might be able to close out the Prize race.
I like that Hydrapple also has synergy with [card name=”Toedscruel ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”5″ c=”name”][/card], which blocks relevant effects like [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card]’s spread damage and [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]’s Frenzied Gouging. Furthermore, the single-Prize [card name=”Toedscruel” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”17″ c=”name”][/card] can potentially stop decks like [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] from simply running over you. This naturally begs the question: should we just cut the middleman and focus entirely on Toedscruel? Toedscruel is a decent enough attacker without bothering with a whole other Stage 2 line, and it can take advantage of the new [card name=”Area Zero Underdepths” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card]. That said, Hydrapple provides the huge amount of HP and bigger damage. It is a little easier to ramp Hydrapple’s attack than Toedscruel’s, and it’s one of the few Pokemon that can one-shot Dragapult ex.
Cinderace ex
[card name=”Cinderace ex” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”28″ c=”name”][/card] is notable for a few reasons. Its HP is very high, like all Stage 2 Pokemon ex. Its first attack does 280 damage, which can actually be used for just a [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] and Sparkling Crystal (though it would then do 260). This is a great deal of damage, though Dragapult is doing the same amount but distributed better. It also has free retreat. In the end, I don’t think this card is competitively viable, but it may be worth keeping an eye on for the future.
Food Prep Combo
[card name=”Crabominable” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”42″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Veluza” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] are two single-Prize attackers with absurdly efficient attacks. The catch is that you need four [card name=”Kofu” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”138″ c=”name”][/card] in your discard pile. When the Perfect Mixer ACE SPEC is released in the future, I could see this being a very real deck. With [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] and especially [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card], you’d have easy access to Perfect Mixer, which instantly discards all of the Kofu. The biggest problem this deck is likely to run into is prizing Kofu, which would be common with the deck playing four copies.
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Galvantula ex
Galvantula ex is a supremely interesting card. Its first attack deals efficient damage, but caps at 220. This alone is just not enough for a Stage 1 Pokemon ex. However, its second attack packs the unique combo of Item lock and decent damage. This is the main selling point of the card, as Item lock is particularly strong in the current format, crippling the setup decks and turbo decks alike. The fact that it does 180 damage means that you can reasonably win games with this attack alone while your opponent is locked out of doing what they want. The problem, of course, is that Galvantula’s attack is obscenely high-maintenance. Not only does it require a whopping three different Energy types, but it also discards all of those Energy after each attack! This will likely require some configuration of [card name=”Powerglass” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”63″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Crispin” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”133″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Glass Trumpet” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Energy Switch” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], and Sparkling Crystal to reasonably chain. This card will certainly be good at some point, but I’m not sure if now is the time. If someone gets the right list that is consistent enough at using the Item lock attack, it has massive potential.
Raging Bolt
The new single-Prize [card name=”Raging Bolt” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] is almost certainly the best single-Prize attacker in [card name=”Raging Bolt ex ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]decks. It snipes down [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Duskull” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] while not requiring a gust effect! This seems good to me. Its second attack swings for 130, which is relevant damage and can be reasonably powered up in two turns with [card name=”Professor Sada’s Vitality” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card]. Raging Bolt offers a convenient use for the extra Energy you inevitably end up with, and overall makes the deck a little bit more varied in its offense while still contributing to the Prize race. Its downside is its high Retreat Cost, but it isn’t that much worse than the [card name=”Sandy Shocks ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card] that people currently play, and you can always use a [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card].
Noctowl and Fan Rotom
Fan Rotom is a disgustingly good card. I don’t know the last time I’ve seen a card with this much efficient output on its own. Its Ability is absurd. On top of that, it deals 70 damage for one Energy, which is just ridiculous. This gives decks like [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] a great turn-one attack that they just shouldn’t have. You can also use it as an all-purpose single-Prize attacker. Naturally, Fan Rotom makes for an excellent combo with [card name=”Noctowl” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”115″ c=”name”][/card]. Noctowl’s Ability is similarly broken, searching for any two Trainer cards when put into play. If you played with Shady Dealings [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Shining Fates” no=”SV027″ c=”name”][/card] from Sword and Shield, you know how absurd this Ability is. The requirement for Noctowl is that you have a Tera Pokemon in play, which is such a non-issue it may as well not exist. Make no mistake, this is just Inteleon’s Shady Dealings on a Stage 1 with the Fan Rotom engine to boot. Of course, we don’t have an equivalent of [card name=”Scoop Up Net” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] in this format, but this is basically offset by the fact that games are so much faster, and Noctowl exacerbates this even more. The synergy with [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card] is also sickening. Simply having a Poffin gets you Hoothoot and Fan Rotom, with the Rotom fetching another Hoothoot and both corresponding Noctowl. This whole thing is just broken.
Noctowl is seeing play alongside Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR. The two have some strong synergy. Palkia wants lots of Pokemon in play, and Fan Rotom plus Noctowl efficiently accelerates the entire deck. On top of that, both Palkia and Noctowl want to pop off on turn two, so they go together well. Noctowl might be slightly more awkward in decks that want to attack on turn one, as it cannot come into play until turn two. Of course, it’s so overpowered that it’s still seeing some play in turbo decks like Raging Bolt. Raging Bolt has enough gas to get the turn-one attack even with Noctowl in the deck, while Noctowl provides sustainability and enables combos to maintain your stranglehold on the Prize race. In that way, Noctowl has a different form of synergy with Raging Bolt, which doesn’t always have the gust–plus–Energy acceleration it needs. Noctowl, of course, makes that happen, and the game is over before you run out of gas. There’s really no end to synergies with Noctowl. You could conceivably combine it with anything.
Bouffalant
[card name=”Bouffalant” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”119″ c=”name”][/card] has a very interesting Ability that reduces damage done to your Basic Colorless Pokemon by 60. It requires another Bouffalant to be in play and the effect doesn’t stack. This is a little bit of setup, but 60 damage is no trivial amount. This is likely to help out Terapagos ex and [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card]. I would not be surprised to see Control or Stall-style decks include Bouffalant. Terapagos wants eight Pokemon on the Bench anyway, so why not have two of them be Bouffalant and make Terapagos particularly difficult to KO?
Terapagos ex
Terapagos ex is one of those new Pokemon that is quite obviously good, but it may take some time to figure out the best way to utilize it. We see this often when it’s not obvious how to best build a deck around a unique new card, such as with Charizard ex and Dragapult ex. Those decks weren’t good immediately on release even though they were hyped to the moon, but they did eventually end up becoming the best deck in format at some point (if only as discard fodder for [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], in Dragapult’s case). Terapagos’s first attack is its main selling point, as it is just super efficient damage. Terapagos also has great synergy with [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Briar” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card], and Area Zero Underdepths. This will probably be the best way to play the deck. There are also some builds with Pidgeot ex and Bouffalant.
You could try to use its second attack with stuff like Crispin, Glass Trumpet, and Sparkling Crystal. Crown Opal deals 180 damage and makes it invincible against non-colorless Basic Pokemon. This is basically Noivern’s attack that deals significantly more damage. However, unlike Noivern, it may prove difficult to get to a lone Terapagos board state against decks you want to beat by walling them out. This attack could theoretically shut out Raging Bolt, but it’s too easy for them to double gust around it if you have any Pokemon on your Bench. Setting up this expensive attack is too high-maintenance, so I think Terapagos will mostly focus on its first attack.
Area Zero Underdepths
I have been waiting for a card like this for a long time. Whether it’s good for the game is highly debatable, but I am excited for a functional reprint of [card name=”Sky Field” set=”Roaring Skies” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. This card allows for some ridiculous combos. It also lets you play lots of broken support Pokemon without really worrying about Bench space. How many times in the past year or two have you thought about how many issues a deck has with Bench space? For me, it’s a lot. Area Zero Underdepths fundamentally alters a core aspect of the game, and opens so many possibilities. The obvious contenders that want to play this card are Palkia and Terapagos. Additionally, turbo decks like Raging Bolt, [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card], and Roaring Moon can greatly benefit from it. There’s also new potential for [card name=”Regigigas” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], as you can now attack with whatever you want since you won’t be board-locked with only the Regis in play. This card is obviously very good and will certainly reward creativity.
Briar
[cardimg name=”Briar” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”163″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
I think that Briar is the most toxic and meta-warping card in this set. It is basically a Supporter that says to take a Prize card. While the conditions for this are highly specific, they aren’t specific enough. Charizard will definitely be the number-one offender, and there isn’t much you can do about it.
Normally, I would read this card and think nothing of it. Most decks are capable of playing around Briar by going to three Prize cards and skipping two entirely. This still works for the Briar deck, though, because if they do that, they won’t be taking the more efficient 2-2-2 Prize map. Dusknoir is what breaks this card. Dusknoir forces your opponent to go to two Prize cards whether they like it or not, at which point you can activate Briar. The fact that Dusknoir also does 130 damage is just unfair. Ending games when the opponent is at three Prize cards is now a trivial matter for Charizard. Thanks to Dusknoir and Briar, Charizard can easily take three or even four Prize cards in one turn. Most decks are simply unable to skip from four to one Prize, and this combo punishes the in-between.
Any Dusknoir deck can take advantage of Briar, and I wouldn’t even be surprised to see non-Dusknoir decks play the card as well. It can be difficult to use Briar, as it uses up your Supporter for turn for no immediate function. It also can be difficult to search out at the right time, for some decks. Aside from Charizard, I expect Dragapult and Terapagos to make the most use out of it. It’s possible for Raging Bolt to utilize Briar against Charizard, but Raging Bolt is one of those decks that might not be able to find it at the right time. Since Raging Bolt cannot really make use of Briar outside of the Charizard matchup, it would be relegated to a very specific tech in that archetype, if it even appears at all.
Crispin
Crispin is a very interesting form of Energy acceleration that was clearly designed to accommodate the awkward Energy costs of Tera Pokemon ex. As a Supporter that doesn’t draw or gust, the opportunity cost of playing it is very high. Crispin also requires you to have two different types of Energy in your deck in order to get the acceleration effect, while also forcing you to take the other one to your hand even when you might not want to. Overall, I think Crispin is a rather weak Supporter, but it has a few relevant uses. I think Dragapult ex and Galvantula ex can utilize this card. Crispin is probably better than [card name=”Mela” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card] in Dragapult, at the very least. Dragapult will probably only play one copy, if any, while Galvantula is probably forced to play more.
Another thing that can be said for Crispin is that it is universal Energy acceleration. This makes it a unique card with a wide variety of potential uses. Any random card that didn’t have viable Energy acceleration before now has a new option. This opens a lot of doors for deckbuilding and creativity. That said, nothing immediately comes to mind when I try to think of something that fits that criterion.
Glass Trumpet
Glass Trumpet is an extremely powerful Item card, but, like most of the cards in this set, it’s also very conditional. Glass Trumpet is technically Item-based universal Energy acceleration, which is basically opening Pandora’s box. Combined with Energy Switch, you can now use Items to accelerate any Basic Energy to any Pokemon in the entire game. The possibilities for this are endless. Glass Trumpet was clearly designed to work with Terapagos and other Colorless Pokemon, but its true potential lies elsewhere. The comparison to [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] immediately comes to mind. Both Items are conditional and universal Item-based Energy acceleration that require their own unique engines. Instead of the Lost Zone engine, Glass Trumpet requires you to discard Energy, have Colorless Pokemon and a Tera Pokemon on the Bench, and Energy Switch.
Of course, this set provides the perfect partner: Noctowl. If you’re able to use enough Noctowl, you can easily power up any Pokemon in the game without even using your Supporter for the turn. Noctowl also happens to be the Colorless Pokemon you already need. If that’s not fast enough for you, it’s possible to utilize turbo cards like [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] to accelerate this combo on turn one. Oh look, Squawkabilly is also Colorless! [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] comes to mind as a turn-one user of this combo. Another idea is simply using [card name=”Thorton” set=”Lost Origin” no=”167″ c=”name”][/card]. You can use a few Glass Trumpet to accelerate to a Colorless Pokemon and then use Thorton instead of Energy Switch. If you only need to use attacks from Pokemon without a Rule Box, you can accelerate Energy directly to [card name=”Ditto” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”107″ c=”name”][/card], which could make for an interesting deck.
This set is a creative deckbuilder’s dream. Thanks to Glass Trumpet, you can more or less evaluate every Pokemon in the format based on what its attack does rather than things like Energy cost. If you find a broken attack with a ridiculous Energy cost, perhaps it can be unlocked with Glass Trumpet. Galvantula is one that immediately comes to mind, but I’m sure there’s many other things in past sets that have hidden potential.
Grand Tree
[card name=”Grand Tree” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] is an intriguing ACE SPEC that is seeing some play in Charizard, and has potential with any Dusknoir deck. One of the best things about Grand Tree is that it can keep searching out Pokemon if it sticks in play. The most glaring issue with Grand Tree is how difficult it is to find. [card name=”Colress’s Tenacity” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] comes to mind, but that card is just bad. Charizard is mostly reliant on using Quick Search to find Grand Tree, which does somewhat work. There’s also the opportunity cost of not being able to play any other ACE SPEC. Charizard has about five viable ACE SPEC options, so it can be hard to determine the right one. Using Grand Tree to evolve into Charizard also does not activate Infernal Reign, which is somewhat annoying. Grand Tree is undeniably powerful with Dusknoir and Stage 2 Pokemon in general, but I’m not convinced that this card is all it’s cracked up to be.
Gravity Gemstone
Gravity Gemstone is apparently seeing some play in decks like Dragapult, but it seems weak to me. I think this card will be best in control and stall archetypes, as they play Arven to search for it, and can easily use it to pressure resources from the opponent. Cards like [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”64″ c=”name”][/card] are already good, and Gravity Gemstone gives you a similar effect while also being attached to a functional attacker (or whatever you want in the Active Spot).
Supereffective Berries
[card name=”Occa Berry” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] reduces damage from Fire-types, which could conceivably be useful against Radiant Charizard. [card name=”Payapa Berry” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”141″ c=”name”][/card] works against Gardevoir, as it can stop [card name=”Drifloon” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] from one-shotting something. Both cards reduce the damage by 60, which is quite a lot. In any case, both cards are very specific techs, but they certainly could be useful for certain decks in the right metagame.
Sparkling Crystal
Sparkling Crystal is undeniably the best ACE SPEC in this set. The card is a huge buff to Dragapult specifically. Gone are the days of Quick Searching for [card name=”Neo Upper Energy ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card]. Now you can conveniently find your attack via Arven. The best part is that it takes the Tool slot for Arven, leaving the Item slot free to still do whatever you want with your turn. Sparkling Crystal also makes [card name=”Greninja ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”106″ c=”name”][/card] much stronger, and I would not be surprised to see more of this previously overlooked attacker alongside all of the new cards from Stellar Crown. This ACE SPEC also helps make Galvantula work, as well as Terapagos if you’re inclined to try and build around its second attack.
Conclusion
That’s all I have for now! I am very excited to see how this set will affect the metagame and what creative decks will come out next. I also hope that the Briar / Dusknoir combo isn’t too broken. Thanks for reading!
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