Spiritual Successors Galore — A Brilliant Stars Set Review
Hello everyone! It’s finally time for a new set! I am cautiously optimistic that Brilliant Stars is a step in the right direction when it comes to improving the Standard format, which is currently terrible in my opinion. The first main problem with the current format is its speed, and consequently the importance of the opening coin flip. The format is too fast and games end too quickly. [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] is a symptom of this, but not necessarily the cause — I’m hoping that strong single-Prize Pokemon, as well as the addition of Pokemon VSTAR, will not only slow this format down, if only slightly, but potentially even increase the relevance of player skill.
The second main problem with the format is the oppressive gatekeeping of snipe attackers such as [card name=”Jolteon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]. I’m fairly confident that the new Manaphy is a hard solution to this problem, which makes me extremely happy.
As with any set, there are some obvious winners and some other cards that are a bit more uncertain. There’s no way to tell exactly how the cards will integrate into the current format until it actually happens, but we can draw on experience and critical thinking to make highly educated guesses. In this article, I’ll be going over the new cards from Brilliant Stars, and I’ll only be discussing ones that I think might be playable in a competitive environment. I may make some passing references to GLC, but won’t be covering cards that are exclusively good in that format, such as Torterra.
Anyway, let’s get into the set.
Pokemon
Wormadam
This set is full of spiritual successors and reprints, and Wormadam is the first of these. Reminiscent of [card name=”Vespiquen” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”10″ c=”name”][/card], this card looks like it could have potential right off the bat. In Expanded, Wormadam gets access to [card name=”Battle Compressor” set=”Phantom Forces” no=”92″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Dedenne-GX” set=”Unbroken Bonds” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Parallel City” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”145″ c=”name”][/card], and in exchange for Vespiquen’s free Retreat Cost, Wormadam gains a few notable benefits; more HP, and capable of ten more damage, both of which can be helpful from time to time.
Most importantly, Wormadam comes in three different types — the best of these is definitely Fighting, which is historically an incredible anti-meta type, however, with Mad Party existing in Expanded, it’s hard to imagine Wormadam outclassing it. That being said, in some particular meta, Wormadam can find itself a spot due to its advantages such as typing and extra HP.
In Standard, Wormadam may be able to function thanks to [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] coming back in this set. It would have to be built like a toolbox in order to handle Mew VMAX, so it would be looking for some Darkness-type tech Pokemon as Wormadam alone cannot handle Mew. Wormadam’s Fighting-type will be able to crush the likes of Arceus VSTAR, and Manaphy can protect against sniping threats. Between Grass and Fighting, Wormadam is poised to handle any sort of Darkness-types as well — I will definitely try out Wormadam in Standard, and it’s a flexible attacker that is worth keeping an eye on for future formats as well. It’s also possible for Wormadam itself to be included as a tech in some decks that already would play [card name=”Twin Energy” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”174″ c=”name”][/card], Double Turbo Energy, or some form of Energy acceleration.
Charizard VSTAR
Charizard VSTAR takes a bit of work to set up, but it’s achievable with the new Magma Basin Stadium card, which can accelerate a Fire Energy. Charizard VSTAR’s first attack does 230 damage, which is reasonable to use on turn two thanks to Magma Basin — turn-two 230 damage is ridiculously good. Keep in mind, this guy is a two-Prize Pokemon with 280 HP… Even without a VSTAR Power, I think this card would be good.
The VSTAR Power is a little bit absurd, dealing a flat 320 damage, which will take out most Pokemon VMAX in one shot. The only thing I’m unsure about here is if Magma Basin alone is enough for Energy acceleration. If your first Charizard VSTAR goes down which has a lot of resources invested in it, the deck may not have any follow-up, but perhaps [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] could be used as alternate acceleration, or Entei V could be a low-maintenance partner for it.
Charizard VSTAR will definitely make use of the Shady Dealings [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] engine. Shady Dealings finds the combo pieces to build up Charizard VSTAR, and Quick Shooting can clean up numbers on the few Pokemon VMAX that can actually survive that meaty Star Blaze. It also makes sense to have Entei V in the deck, not only as a low-maintenance fallback option but also as an efficient attacker to deal with Pokemon that you don’t need Charizard VSTAR’s nukes for.
Moltres
Moltres is an interesting new card that basically only works alongside Magma Basin.
90 damage for one Energy is undoubtedly good, but I think there’s a high chance that this card might be too situational, but I could see it combo’ing with Charizard VSTAR. Charizard VSTAR’s regular attack does 230, which makes for a nice duo against Pokemon VMAX with Moltres’s 90 damage.
Overall, this card is meta-dependent, and it may rotate in and out of Magma Basin variants — if you’re able to attack with Moltres on turn one it’s godlike, but that requires too much luck to pull off consistently. Aside from that, 90 on turn two is sometimes too slow.
Entei V
Entei V is copy-paste [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], which has already proven itself to be a great card on its own.
Aside from being a potential partner for Charizard VSTAR, Entei V will definitely develop its own build that replicates Suicune V / [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Ludicolo” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”34″ c=”name”][/card].
Entei V’s advantage is that it has Magma Basin, which allows it to more freely use [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Champion’s Path” no=”62″ c=”name”][/card], whereas Suicune V is more reliant on [card name=”Melony” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”146″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Raihan” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”152″ c=”name”][/card]. Entei V will have to work around Magma Basin’s restriction to Bench attachments as well as its Retreat Cost of three, but I’m sure it will be a strong archetype.
Floatzel
I want to play control in Standard as much as anyone, but Floatzel isn’t it. This effect on a Stage 1 has been printed a few times before, but it’s never good enough — you may as well play [card name=”Seaking” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card] in Standard! Floatzel is slow, hard to chain, and its recovery effect simply isn’t good enough to beat stuff in the format. It might, however, be usable in Expanded where the Items are way stronger, and it gives a control option to Water in GLC.
Lumineon V
Lumineon V is a fantastic card to have in the format, giving consistency and flexibility to any deck that may not already have a built-in engine. Of course, Fusion Strike and Shady Dealings builds have no use for it, but just about anything else might appreciate the option.
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Lumineon V is important as it dramatically increases the value of [card name=”Quick Ball” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”179″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], which are cards that decks will already play. With Lumineon V, each Quick Ball and Ultra Ball turns into an out for ANY Supporter. This is a significantly strong Ability.
Decks that may include Lumineon V include Single Strike, Arceus VSTAR, and random other decks that end up emerging in the format. Single-Prize decks can also use Lumineon V along with the new Collapsed Stadium to remove it as a liability; previously, single-Prize decks had a lose-lose situation with regards to consistency Pokemon like [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card], but these support options are more of a liability than usual in single-Prize decks specifically, so they would have to go without and sacrifice consistency.
Manaphy
Manaphy is my favorite card in the set. I’ve been wanting Bench Barrier back, and it single-handedly solves the main problem with the previously-awful format. I am definitely on the optimistic side when it comes to Manaphy, but oppressive snipe decks simply have no easy way to deal with it — any deck can simply include two Manaphy and not worry about [card name=”Jolteon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”51″ c=”name”][/card] at all.
Single-Prize decks finally have a fair chance in the meta thanks to Manaphy, decks like [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Flaaffy” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card], and even [card name=”Leon” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Charizard” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”25″ c=”name”][/card] will love to have Manaphy. A whole world of possibilities opens up for single-Prize decks to emerge thanks to Manaphy. Some decks will play one, and some may even play two, depending on existing counts of [card name=”Rescue Carrier” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Ordinary Rod” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card]. For example, Malamar only needs one Manaphy because it has plenty of recovery.
Pachirisu + Honchkrow V
This ‘Tool Drop’ combo is worth discussing because it will be significant if there’s a reliable way to power up Pachirisu. Off the top of my head, I don’t know of a consistent and low-maintenance way to chain Pachirisu, as its attack costs Lightning and Colorless. That said, it’s worth keeping an eye on because Pachirisu’s damage output is no joke.
Whimsicott VSTAR
I don’t think Whimsicott VSTAR is good, but it could see play under the right set of circumstances. Like any VSTAR, its HP for a two-Prize Pokemon is nothing to sneeze at. Its attack is tricky to power up, but it has significance against [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] and any other Double Turbo Energy user (such as Arceus VSTAR), but its damage output is barely enough for relevant two-HKO’s.
Whimsicott’s VSTAR Power is a reasonable snipe attack that will be situationally useful.
Like Pachirisu, Whimsicott VSTAR’s biggest obstacle is finding the engine that can make it work. Furthermore, Whimsicott VMAX will have to slide into a deck that already has power, as it’s not doing enough damage on its own. The obvious pairing is [card name=”Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card], but Whimsicott VSTAR won’t make Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX any better, so that’s not exactly going to work on a competitive level. It’s a situational card that may be good sometimes, but its competitive pairing is not so obvious.
Unfortunately for Whimsicott VSTAR, its attack doesn’t solo anything relevant, which has been the case with some Special Energy-lockers in the past. If the attack could single-handedly auto-win a Tier 1 deck, this would be much better.
Mimikyu VMAX
When I read this card I was amazed that nobody was talking about it. Mimikyu VMAX is a threat, and if it catches on, it will be played with [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”43″ c=”name”][/card] engine — Shady Dealings finds Acerola’s Premonition, and Quick Shooting complements the snipe attack.
Acerola’s Premonition isn’t a good card, so that requirement is annoying, but it’s at least playable for our purposes. Two things make Mimikyu VMAX significant; firstly, it’s a strong snipe attack that goes through Manaphy. Secondly, Mimikyu V‘s Ability makes itself invincible for one turn. This protects itself long enough to evolve into VMAX along with its corresponding Energy attachment. This card will make great use of Double Turbo Energy, although that card isn’t easy to consistently find, so basic Energy attachments also work. [card name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] synergy helps out the consistency of the turn-two attack big time.
At the end of the day, Mimikyu VMAX is a three-Prize Pokemon with “only” 300 HP, which is definitely a limiting factor. I wouldn’t be surprised if this card ended up not being good enough, but it has potential and I’ll be trying to make it work.
Bibarel
Bibarel offers a neat draw Ability that’s identical to [card name=”Octillery” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”33″ c=”name”][/card], however, Bibarel will not be nearly as impactful as Octillery was. That said, any deck that plays a lot of [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] probably would like to include a 1-1 or 2-2 Bibarel line. It’s hard to say what decks those will be for sure, but my bet is on Arceus VSTAR and Single Strike as prime candidates to play Bibarel.
Arceus VSTAR
Arceus VSTAR is insane. This card has everything. EVERYTHING! Thankfully, its Weakness is exploitable, but man this card is so good. Turn-two Trinity Nova is so easy and so devastating! With support from the new Choice Belt and Double Turbo Energy, Arceus VSTAR is so fast and so strong. In fact, the turn-two Trinity Nova into whatever you want is actually worrisome… This card might be too good.
The best partners for Arceus VSTAR are looking to be [card name=”Duraludon VMAX” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card], Charizard VSTAR, toolbox, or anything that does a ton of damage with a lot of basic Energy. The Starbirth VSTAR Power will likely be used to set up and find your combo pieces for that insane tempo off Trinity Nova, plus, if you’re lucky enough to find all the combo pieces naturally, you can save Starbirth for later and you’ll automatically win.
Once the meta settles down after this set’s release, I’m looking forward to trying Arceus VSTAR toolbox. A side effect of Arceus VSTAR coming into the fray is [card name=”Galarian Zapdos V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”80″ c=”name”][/card] getting a huge buff by being great against it, so keep an eye out for that. Early [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] also has the potential to stifle Arceus VSTAR’s setup — even delaying Arceus VSTAR by one turn can be a huge deal.
Trainers
Cheren’s Care
This card is a little bit stupid with Arceus VSTAR. If your opponent can’t easily OHKO Arceus VSTAR, they lose, however, this card is highly situational and doesn’t help in matchups that pressure Arceus with OHKO’s. Cheren’s Care is an interesting but completely meta-dependent card that may or may not see play.
Choice Belt
Choice Belt is a meta-warping card that will see play in most decks. 30 extra damage for free is extremely significant, especially for the likes of [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], Arceus VSTAR, [card name=”Suicune V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”31″ c=”name”][/card], Entei V, and more. Notably, it helps Arceus VSTAR fix math after taking damage reduction from Double Turbo Energy. There’s not much to say about this card. It’s simple and incredibly good.
Collapsed Stadium
Collapsed Stadium is significant for several reasons; in decks that aim to not get OHKO’d (such as [card name=”Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”75″ c=”name”][/card] for example), Collapsed Stadium can function as a way to heal off a damaged VMAX. This removes three Prizes from the board and makes opponents work a lot harder.
There aren’t many decks that can dispose of their own Pokemon VMAX like that though… Like Cheren’s Care, Collapsed Stadium can work with Arceus VSTAR if the opponent is forced to hit into one for less than a OHKO. I think Collapsed Stadium is better overall for Arceus VSTAR, but Cheren’s Care obviously does this specific function better.
Collapsed Stadium also helps decks remove liabilities such as Lumineon V or [card name=”Crobat V” set=”Darkness Ablaze” no=”104″ c=”name”][/card]. This is especially great for single-Prize decks, and I could also see decks like Single Strike use this. Collapsed Stadium will see scattered play in Standard for sure. There are so many random uses for this card!
Cynthia’s Ambition
This Supporter is mediocre in every sense of the word, however, it’s exactly what [card name=”Malamar” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] is looking for. Malamar will happily play four of these, and other single-Prize decks may include some as well. Aside from that, nothing much to write home about.
Gloria
Gloria plus [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] plus Lumineon V plus [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Vivid Voltage” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] is a great setup combo. I don’t know which decks exactly will play Gloria, but it definitely opens the door for single-Prize decks that don’t already have an established engine. I look forward to trying out all sorts of new combos involving Lumineon V and Gloria, much like Wonder Tag for [card name=”Brigette” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] in Expanded.
Roseanne’s Backup
My opinion on this card changes from day to day. It’s definitely a weak card, but it’s interesting and versatile. I think some [card name=”Inteleon” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] decks will make use of it. It’s nothing to write home about though.
Ultra Ball
Ultra Ball is a huge deal for the consistency of the format overall. I don’t think Inteleon decks should make use of it, however, and should still play high counts of [card name=”Evolution Incense” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] instead.
Anything else though, Arceus VSTAR, [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], Single Strike, etc., will greatly benefit from Ultra Ball.
Also notable is its incredible synergy with Crobat V, Lumineon V, and Bibarel, making these cards better than they otherwise would be. Decks that play awkward splits of search cards, such as [card name=”Victini VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], also will love Ultra Ball.
Again, it’s a big deal for anything besides most Inteleon decks. I’m extremely happy this card is now here, as it opens up the format quite a bit.
Double Turbo Energy
This card makes Arceus VSTAR so broken, regardless of what variant you’re using. It can also breathe new life into Mad Party, and makes Wormadam viable. Plus, of course, Mew VMAX also loves the option for Double Turbo Energy, though it will have to manage an awkward Energy split. Perhaps Mew VMAX will only play one or two Double Turbo Energy and keep the build otherwise unchanged?
Conclusion
I skipped a lot of cards that may look interesting, but as I said earlier, I only wanted to spend time on cards that are competitively viable. The cards I didn’t mention are straight-up bad. Of course, anything can happen with future meta developments, but the above-mentioned cards are the only relevant ones for the foreseeable future.
Overall, I’m extremely happy with this set. Manaphy, [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], and Lumineon V are healthy and open up the format a lot. Fire is getting good, and there’s a lot of potential for existing cards that have been previously unplayable. I am a little concerned about Arceus VSTAR being too good, but it’s also counterable and exploitable with some of the techs I mentioned. There’s also a lot of potential for creativity with Arceus VSTAR because it can pair with almost anything. Maybe Arceus STAR will be a 1-1 line in some decks as solely a support option? Who knows!
Thanks for reading!
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