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I was looking for some sources to support my belief that Archie's Ace in the Hole and Maxie's Hidden Ball trick can put evolutions directly onto your bench to better answer a member's question in the "Ask a Professor" forum. Not only was I right, but I found out something just a little more juicy.
According to the card explanations on the official Pokemon website, not only can you use Archie and Maxie to directly bench evolutions, but if you chose to do this with a Mega Evolution (or Primal), it would not end your turn. This is because you're directly playing the Pokemon to the bench as opposed to actually evolving. The Mega/ Primal rule states that your turn only ends when one of your Pokemon becomes (aka evolves) it, unless of course you have a Spirit Link. Since you're playing the card directly to your bench via an effect, rather than evolving from a Basic Pokemon, the Mega / Primal rule does not trigger.
What does this mean for the metagame? Well, we will need to do some testing to find out. Archie and Maxie are still difficult to play, and the only Mega Evolutions they can get out (collectively speaking) are P-Groudon, P-Kyogre, M-Blastoise, and M-Lucario. Of those four, Groudon and Kyogre can be brought out more reliably via Spirit Links, though this is something you should keep in the back of your mind. I'm not really a fan of M-Blastoise, especially since Kyogre kind of overshadows it. Of course, other Water and Fighting Mega Evolutions will surely be released in the future, and there's no telling what Pokemon has planned for their playabilty.
I'd like to now direct your attention to M-Lucario-EX. Here is a card with some potential, given all the Fighting support. It does have a couple of drawbacks, aside from being a Mega without a Spirit Link though. An attack cost of three [F] energy is kind of hefty, and it does mean it's only going to be in a straight Fighting deck. A Psychic weakness is a problem, but when played with other partners Mewtwo-EX can be worked around. With Strong energy, Muscle Band. and Fighting Stadium, it's pretty easy to OHKO things with Rising Fist. And in the event that you don't, you get to discard an energy attached to your opponent's active Pokemon. That's pretty sick, especially considering that Landorus FFI can power it up in two turns. Maxie's Hidden Ball trick just might open up the door for M-Lucario to see a bit of play, especially if played in a deck with P-Groudon.
Do you folks have thoughts on any of this? This could potentially mean something for future Water and Fighting Mega Evolutions (Spirit Links seem to be the norm now, but we could get surprised). Of course, Links are a bit clunky themselves. This alternative is clunky as well... given the specifics needed to play Archie or Maxie, but it is just that- an alternative, which could prove useful in the right situation.
I was looking for some sources to support my belief that Archie's Ace in the Hole and Maxie's Hidden Ball trick can put evolutions directly onto your bench to better answer a member's question in the "Ask a Professor" forum. Not only was I right, but I found out something just a little more juicy.
According to the card explanations on the official Pokemon website, not only can you use Archie and Maxie to directly bench evolutions, but if you chose to do this with a Mega Evolution (or Primal), it would not end your turn. This is because you're directly playing the Pokemon to the bench as opposed to actually evolving. The Mega/ Primal rule states that your turn only ends when one of your Pokemon becomes (aka evolves) it, unless of course you have a Spirit Link. Since you're playing the card directly to your bench via an effect, rather than evolving from a Basic Pokemon, the Mega / Primal rule does not trigger.
What does this mean for the metagame? Well, we will need to do some testing to find out. Archie and Maxie are still difficult to play, and the only Mega Evolutions they can get out (collectively speaking) are P-Groudon, P-Kyogre, M-Blastoise, and M-Lucario. Of those four, Groudon and Kyogre can be brought out more reliably via Spirit Links, though this is something you should keep in the back of your mind. I'm not really a fan of M-Blastoise, especially since Kyogre kind of overshadows it. Of course, other Water and Fighting Mega Evolutions will surely be released in the future, and there's no telling what Pokemon has planned for their playabilty.
I'd like to now direct your attention to M-Lucario-EX. Here is a card with some potential, given all the Fighting support. It does have a couple of drawbacks, aside from being a Mega without a Spirit Link though. An attack cost of three [F] energy is kind of hefty, and it does mean it's only going to be in a straight Fighting deck. A Psychic weakness is a problem, but when played with other partners Mewtwo-EX can be worked around. With Strong energy, Muscle Band. and Fighting Stadium, it's pretty easy to OHKO things with Rising Fist. And in the event that you don't, you get to discard an energy attached to your opponent's active Pokemon. That's pretty sick, especially considering that Landorus FFI can power it up in two turns. Maxie's Hidden Ball trick just might open up the door for M-Lucario to see a bit of play, especially if played in a deck with P-Groudon.
Do you folks have thoughts on any of this? This could potentially mean something for future Water and Fighting Mega Evolutions (Spirit Links seem to be the norm now, but we could get surprised). Of course, Links are a bit clunky themselves. This alternative is clunky as well... given the specifics needed to play Archie or Maxie, but it is just that- an alternative, which could prove useful in the right situation.
