Discussion Jirachi in the new meta

[ForeverRanger91]

So I have been testing quite a bit with a variety of different decks for the new format and all of my decks have included 1 Jirachi. Now, most of that is that only own 1 and no way am I shelling out 25 USD for another one but also because that is all I seem to have space for. We all know that Jirachi is an amazing card but with the severe lack of search and switch options available right now, unless you are able to start with it, it is just going to sit on your bench eating up space. In close to 20 matches, I never once started with it and ended up being fodder for Red or Forest.

Is Jirachi going to fall out of use early on once rotation hits? I think it is going to be a Tapu Lele GX thing where if you run it, you need to be running at least 2. In Lele's case, you never wanted to start with it, while Jirachi might be the best starter in the game and if you run it, you want it to be your starter. Luckily it isn't as big of a liability unlike Dedenne GX or Lele since you only give up one prize instead of two.

To any new players who aren't willing to shell out 20+ for a single card, no it is not required. With Gear being a thing, searching for supporters couldn't have been easier so you are really only searching for either items or that Escape Board to get it out of the active. Just wanted to make that statement because players are going to see lists with it and ask.

 

[DorilMagefont]

What post rotation will look like right now is anyone's guess, but Jirachi will definitely remain a strong option. Addressing your points:

• Not starting it: this is just math. With 1 copy in your deck you have approximately a 12% chance of drawing at least one copy in your starting hand. With 4 copies, that probability increases to 40%. You can confirm this with this calculator which is designed to calculate these kinds of odds: https://stattrek.com/online-calculator/hypergeometric.aspx

I think this is the main reason for running heavy counts: for consistency reasons. If you think about the current meta, even decks that don't gust much run 4 copies as a draw engine as itself (ex. Baby blacephalon). It's just too good at being a pivot card when you get knocked out or just need to find cards

• It's not required: you're right but for the wrong reasons. It's not required because it doesn't fit in every deck. Some decks need a lot of bench space and can't afford Jirachi, for example. But that doesn't mean it sucks
• Post-rotation: is it going to be weaker? Without gusting, imo yes. Is it going to be weak? Unequivocally, hell no. For starters, cards like escape board and switch will still be available to switch jirachi into your actual attackers. Secondly, the strength of this card is that it draws trainer cards, which are basically about half of all serious decks, which all need to draw cards and "do stuff"

I feel your pain that it's expensive, but by no means is it a foregone conclusion nor a Lele-like tech card. It needing to be in the active makes it less flexible than Lele so you can really just use 1 and call it a day. I think it's hard to be a one of: in a lot of cases I personally think it being a two-of is a little awkward

 

[JumpluffTCG]

Snip

I appreciate this post and your side on this topic, so don't take this in a personal way. But I disagree.

I'm also someone who believes Jirachi is sort of infuriating to play with even in this format. Like you Stellar Wish into Escape Board so you retreat to another Jirachi and find a Switch, and then you Switch to another Jirachi to Stellar Wish and do all that work for a Nest Ball or something. Lmao what are you even doing with your life. Card is wack

On a more serious note, losing Guzma, Escape Rope, and Nest Ball means you can't utilize Jirachi nearly to the same extent. It's no doubt a great pivot when something dies but you need to play a Pokemon Communication to search it out which is a lot of effort. I'm not convinced that players are going to search for a Jirachi using PComm (so they need PComm + useless mon in hand) along with a Switch + Escape Board in hand (so in total, a 4 card combo) just to fish in the dark for a random Trainer card. You can argue that you don't have to use Stellar Wish on the turn Jirachi comes down. This is true but you're also wasting your Pokemon Communication in a sense because you're not using it towards something more proactive. You could be more proactive by say, searching out a Dedenne GX with that Pokemon Communication instead and dig 6 cards. This also doesn't take into account that omitting Jirachi from your list also means you rid your deck of excessive Switches and Escape Boards. All in all I think that for most decks post-rotation, the Dedenne GX engine is significantly better at finding things and allows for your deck to have more substance without those useless Switch cards flooding your deck.

 

[DorilMagefont]

I appreciate hearing the opposite side of the coin, and I can't find fault with what you are saying, but I can't say I'm convinced. The Dedenne engine is going to come out as a big winner in post-rotation, but I think it's just inherently different: Cherish Ball is going to be a huge win for Dedenne. Existing archetypes (Pikarom) or new archetypes (Mewmew) that want to discard cards are going to appreciate it. Of course, it still comes with the disadvantage that you can only play it once a turn. In a format with less gusting, it's not going to mind being a two-prize liability. But it still takes up bench space/cannot pivot like Jirachi can. Loss of Nest/Guzma/Escape rope are definitely going to be negatives, but I don't think think that discounts trying to play a 4 of and starting with it solely as a pivot like the current Blacephalon/Buzzmosa decks sometimes do.

I think there are other decks that use Pokemon techs that included in high counts for you to start with it: Articuno in QuagNag for example. It hasn't seen much play (success?) in the NA format, but the Japanese lists loved it. And I think it does its job of preventing Guzma while you setup (though we seemed to prefer the 4 Baton version over Articuno)

But only time will tell. Personally, I would love it if Jirachi becomes useless (so I don't have to re-buy a playset for ~80 USD or whatever) but I'm not discounting it just yet. I just cannot discount archetypes that really want to try it as a draw engine -- the archetypes that need to draw a specific trainer card "at the right time". Combo decks seem to enjoy it more-so than using a discard engine like Zebstrika/Dedenne.

Edit: The more I think about it, the more I am swayed toward your guys/gals' position, but I am not entirely convinced that I'm not a scrub who just hasn't theorycrafted the appropriate deck to place Jirachi in. The aggressive decks I can think of/have heard of all want to get stuff in the discard, which is a + for Dedenne, etc. You've got Mewmew, Psyduck & Slowpoke, etc.