Discussion The Break Mechanic

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pokedan24

Aspiring Trainer
Member
The newest mechanic in the upcoming XY8 set are Break Pokemon. These are kind of like megas for non EX's. The difference is that you don't lose a turn when you evolve. Also, you retain the attacks, abilities, and bottom stats of the pokemon you evolve from in addition to any new abilities and attacks that are gained when evolved. For example, Raichu Break:

Raichu BREAK – Lightning – HP130
BREAK Evolution

Raichu BREAK retains the attacks, Abilities, Weakness, Resistance, and Retreat Cost of its previous Evolution.

[L][C][C] Grand Bolt: 170 damage. Discard all Energy attached to this Pokemon.

On it's own merits, it's pretty bad and not something I'd build a deck around. But since Raichu/Skyfield is already a thing, it wouldn't be too hard to put one in that deck. It wouldn't hurt the strategy since Raichu keeps it's attacks, but it gets 40 more HP and an alternate attack that doesn't depend on a full bench.

Another one is Noivern:

Noivern BREAK – Dragon – HP130
Break Evolution

Noivern BREAK retains the attacks, Abilities, Weakness, Resistance, and Retreat Cost of its previous Evolution.

[P][D][C] Synchro Woofer: 70+ damage. If the number of cards in your hand and your opponent’s hands are the same, this attack does 80 more damage.

I think this one is better than Raichu overall. Since judge is being reprinted. matching hand sizes should not be hard at all. If you use the furious fists Noivern, you get a defensive ability and a spread attack to set up kos. Noivern decks aren't much of a thing now, but I think that with the Dragon support from XY6, you could make something good.

I don't think many of these stand well on their own merits(with the exception of Golduck, but I don't think that's in the upcoming set), but combined with the right preevolution, we could have something.
 
I think Noivern spread decks are fun to play and Noivern Break is an exciting card for said deck. Noivern needed a hard hitting clean-up Pokemon, and now it can do that in itself without the need to build up and switch into another Pokemon. The extra 30 HP could force another attack to KO Noivern, which is especially brutal considering they need to flip a coin to get the attack through. The extra 30 HP also forces a 2HKO for a banded Hydreigon EX fwiw. Mime is back but Silent Lab was always the stadium of choice for Noivern before rotation. The new Noibat is also a tiny boost, getting to flip for an energy discard as opposed to just 10 damage.
 
I'm wondering about the actual mechanic. Surely "break" evolution means slap that card down as and when you like, even if you played the stage before that turn. Also is Noivern break then still a stage one? Just wondering if a cheeky Flareon/Blacksmith/Smeargle combo would allow you to set up in one. Clunky but nifty.
 
I personally like Chesnaught BREAK in expanded with XY as the prev and Rock Guard attached. 90 damage recoil just from attacking, 190 HP, has an attack that can slowly recover HP and can be set up quickly with FGP and Virizion EX/M Sceptile EX. I also dont mind the idea of Ariados in there to kill off your opponents pokemon quicker too. If you run switches M Scep can help Chesnaught recover with its attack.
 
I feel like this could have a huge impact on the current meta on the future but the break cards right now are not that good
 
I've also wondered if you have to wait a turn to BREAK. I assume so since it doesn't say otherwise.

Also, I think Marowak and Zoroark are worth a look.

Marowak – Fighting – HP100
Stage 1 – Evolves from Cubone

[F] Snipe: Choose 1 of your opponent’s Pokemon. This attack does 30 damage to that Pokemon (don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon).

[F][C] Bone Windmill: 60 damage. If your opponent’s Active Pokemon is a Pokemon-EX, switch this Pokemon with 1 of your Benched Pokemon.

Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Marowak BREAK – Fighting – HP140
BREAK Evolution

Marowak BREAK retains the attacks, Abilities, Weakness, Resistance, and Retreat Cost of its previous Evolution.

[F][C] Bone Revenge: 20+ damage. This attack does 40 more damage for each Prize card your opponent has taken.

I like both of these. On their own, they're nothing special but they're fighting... so their average attacks can easily become heavy hitters.

Zoroark – Darkness – HP100
Stage 1 – Evolves from Zorua

Ability: Impersonate
Once during your turn (before your attack), if this Pokemon is on your Bench, you may switch this Pokemon with your Active Pokemon.

[C][C] Mind Jack 10+ This attack does 10 damage plus 30 more damage for each Pokemon on your opponent’s Bench.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: Psychic (-20)
Retreat: 2


Zoroark BREAK – Darkness – HP140
BREAK Evolution

Zoroark BREAK retains the attacks, Abilities, Weakness, Resistance, and Retreat Cost of its previous Evolution.

[D] Foul Play: Choose 1 of your opponent’s Active Pokemon’s attacks and use it as this attack.

I think Zoroark on it's own is damn near broken, ESPECIALLY against Skyfield decks. One of the best attackers for the DCE toolbox. On top of that, IT HAS RUSH IN (perfect timing for float stone). As for Foul Play, I'm not sure if I like it better costing one dark or one DCE (The BW one)
 
I like the zoroark. The regular one combines keldeo's switching with plasma absol's mind jack. Add break, and you cause some absol-ute chaos. marowak is just meh. The noivern one can get played with the Furious Fists one , and raichu can be used to tech with the XY raichus, to give it a finishing hit. Golduck break will probably see usage, as it can move energy around on the field.
 
crystal_pidgeot said:
I'm a little confused. Can you Break evolve a Pokemon the turn a Pokemon evolves?
Click to expand...

Only in the case of Forest of Giant Plants(in case of Chesnaught(due to its Grass-type) to BREAK form) or Wally(which cannot evolve pokes into Lv. Xes, but oddly, can evolve pokes into BREAKs, although BREAKs are like LEGENDs because BREAKs are missing retreat costs, weaknesses, among other bottom features that the cards they evolve from have, so it would be expected if TPC thinks "not a legal pokemon card" if said card is a pokemon card(rather than a trainer or energy, which does not have the same bottom anyway) that lacks said bottom)...

^ Otherwise, no...
 
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cardgjammer said:
Only in the case of Forest of Giant Plants(in case of Chesnaught(due to its Grass-type) to BREAK form) or Wally(which cannot evolve pokes into Lv. Xes, but oddly, can evolve pokes into BREAKs)...

^ Otherwise, no...
Click to expand...

Then whats the point of this? Why not just make evolutions better?
 
crystal_pidgeot said:
Then whats the point of this? Why not just make evolutions better?
Click to expand...

Maybe to bring a little nostalgia back into the game?

Assuming the evolution occurs from the hand, unless a card is in play that says otherwise, you have to wait a turn to evolve the pokemon again after evolving it once during your turn. BREAKs and Lv.Xes are no different, as they require you to do that in order for your decision to evolve it is a legal one per rules. However, these days, with Delta Evolution, FGP, EXes, 1-2 energy attackers, among other factors that attack fast and hard, the "wait a turn between evolutions" norm makes it now much more difficult for pokemon cards to make it to stage 2, let alone BREAK, before your foe has the numbers to KO it, without the help of Trainer cards like Rare Candy(and that won't make a BREAK evolution happen), meaning BREAKs, in my opinion, are almost entirely clutter cards that could be replaced with faster attackers, with the only non-clutter BREAK card being Chesnaught, due to FGP...
 
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cardgjammer said:
Maybe to bring a little nostalgia back into the game?

Assuming the evolution occurs from the hand, unless a card is in play that says otherwise, you have to wait a turn to evolve the pokemon again after evolving it once during your turn. BREAKs and Lv.Xes are no different, as they require you to do that in order for your decision to evolve it is a legal one per rules. However, these days, with Delta Evolution, FGP, EXes, 1-2 energy attackers, among other factors that attack fast and hard, the "wait a turn between evolutions" norm makes it now much more difficult for pokemon cards make it to stage 2, let alone BREAK, before your foe has the numbers to KO it, without the help of Trainer cards like Rare Candy(and that won't make a BREAK evolution happen), meaning BREAKs, in my opinion, are almost entirely clutter cards that could be replaced with faster attackers, with the only non-clutter BREAK card being Chesnaught, due to FGP...
Click to expand...

I know how evolving in this game works. Evolving Pokemon are already hard to get into play but calling in Break Evolution means to me, there is some kind of benefit to using this but if this purely serves as another stage of evolution, then why not just make evolutions in general better. Being able to use attacks and such of the last stage means nothing if that stage sucked in general.

I was looking forward to using Golduck Break but if its going to be a stage 2, without rare candy support, then I dont want to use it.
 
pokedan24 said:
I've also wondered if you have to wait a turn to BREAK. I assume so since it doesn't say otherwise.

Also, I think Marowak and Zoroark are worth a look.

Marowak – Fighting – HP100
Stage 1 – Evolves from Cubone

[F] Snipe: Choose 1 of your opponent’s Pokemon. This attack does 30 damage to that Pokemon (don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon).

[F][C] Bone Windmill: 60 damage. If your opponent’s Active Pokemon is a Pokemon-EX, switch this Pokemon with 1 of your Benched Pokemon.

Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1

Marowak BREAK – Fighting – HP140
BREAK Evolution

Marowak BREAK retains the attacks, Abilities, Weakness, Resistance, and Retreat Cost of its previous Evolution.

[F][C] Bone Revenge: 20+ damage. This attack does 40 more damage for each Prize card your opponent has taken.

I like both of these. On their own, they're nothing special but they're fighting... so their average attacks can easily become heavy hitters.
Click to expand...

I think Marowak/Marowak BREAK is pretty interesting, I'm looking forward to XY8 to try out Marowak/Bats/Milotic FLF (to accelerate)
 
cardgjammer said:
Only in the case of Forest of Giant Plants(in case of Chesnaught(due to its Grass-type) to BREAK form) or Wally(which cannot evolve pokes into Lv. Xes, but oddly, can evolve pokes into BREAKs, although BREAKs are like LEGENDs because BREAKs are missing retreat costs, weaknesses, among other bottom features that the cards they evolve from have, so it would be expected if TPC thinks "not a legal pokemon card" if said card is a pokemon card(rather than a trainer or energy, which does not have the same bottom anyway) that lacks said bottom)...

^ Otherwise, no...
Click to expand...

I'll have to see the way it plays out, but from my understanding, a break card is not an evolution, you can't archie/maxie it in. In that case, or possible logic, and from a couple of the professors at my league, you can break the same turn you evolve, because it is not considered an evolution card, it's a break card. It would play like an item card as long as you can play it on that turn, but you should be able to break at anytime, once the stage evolution is completed on that pokemon. Which sort of makes sense, since the card is called break, you basically break mechanics and transform the card.

If is not like that, then well, I don't see them being played much. ;)

Two Cents.
 
poke4trade said:
I'll have to see the way it plays out, but from my understanding, a break card is not an evolution, you can't archie/maxie it in. In that case, or possible logic, and from a couple of the professors at my league, you can break the same turn you evolve, because it is not considered an evolution card, it's a break card. It would play like an item card as long as you can play it on that turn, but you should be able to break at anytime, once the stage evolution is completed on that pokemon. Which sort of makes sense, since the card is called break, you basically break mechanics and transform the card.

If is not like that, then well, I don't see them being played much. ;)

Two Cents.
Click to expand...

Those professors are wrong:

BREAK Evolution cards are still considered evolution cards, but without Weaknesses, Resistances, and/or Retreat Cost listed on the break card itself(those features are borrowed from the pokemon it broke from, but the lack of those features on the BREAK alone is why you can't Archie/Maxie it in(No Pokemon Robos allowed(if the pokemon cannot be discarded at will like Robo Sub can, without the weakness, resistance, and retreat cost listings, it would cause confusion to the TOs, as every pokemon type card has to have a retreat cost listed in order to ensure it's not too different from other pokemon cards of its kind. Trainer and Energy cards have looser reqs in terms of sole legality than pokemon type cards, and since BREAKs are not Trainers...)), but you can Wally/Evosoda on the card the BREAK evolves from to achieve the BREAK), in order to BREAK, you'll need the card it evolves from, as well as its prior stage cards(if the card it evolves from evolves from another pokemon), or if the BREAK is from a stage 2, you can use Rare Candy to make the basic jump to stage 2...

The top left corner of the card should tell you what you need to use its respective BREAK...
 
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I suppose you could Archie's and THEN Break, but that's probably not worth it unless it's a Stage 2, and even then, that's a little too slow to build a deck around.
 
I have a question about BREAK Evolution. If a Pokemon BREAK Evolves from a Stage 2, is it still considered a Stage 2? I need to know because of Flashfire Miltank.
 
Sabaku said:
I have a question about BREAK Evolution. If a Pokemon BREAK Evolves from a Stage 2, is it still considered a Stage 2? I need to know because of Flashfire Miltank.
Click to expand...

No. BREAKs don't affect Powerful Friends additional damage, even if the break came from a stage 2...

How did I find that out?

Look at Training Center as a related example: any evolution that does NOT have Stage 1 or stage 2 on the top left corner of the card is NOT affected by Training Center. Just because Stage 2s are affected by Training Center, does not mean BREAK evolutions can't take the additional 30 HP away... And if the reason why they don't get the added 30 is because BREAKs are not Stage 1 or Stage 2, but a different evolution altogether, in the same vein as Megas, then I'm afraid that in the case of Stage 2 gone BREAK, Powerful Friends will not get the additional 70... :(
 
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