It’s that time again, scans and translations of the latest Japanese set have been revealed. So I’ve compiled a top 12 list of what I think are the best cards.
Since this is a unique set, I want to go over some cards that won’t be on the list :
>Mega Exs: I just don’t think they’re worth that turn they give up. Venusaur is especially bad since it requires FOUR energy with no easy means of acceleration. I think you’d have an easier time setting up Cradily (PLB) than this. Blastoise is a little bit better. Thanks to Deluge Blastoise, you should have no problem getting the energy onto it. So for that one deck, it’s an option, but I still think Blastoise (Deluge) has better things to work with that don’t give up a turn. If I’m going to give up a turn, I better be doing 200 damage the next turn and these Mega Pokemon don’t deliver on the front.
>Reprints of cards from B/W: This includes cards that have a different name. I see no reason to include something like Professor Sycamore when it does the exact same thing as Professor Juniper. Heck, it might as well be named Juniper since according to a recent ruling, you can’t total 4 or either card.
Without further ado, here are my top 12:
(12) Team Flare Grunt: A crushing hammer without the coin flip or, for those who played during the base set days, energy removal. The catch is that this is a supporter, which keeps this from becoming broken, but with the rise in non-supporter draw engines, it might pop up in a few decks. Keep a look out for this.
(11) Greninja: This is my mandatory stage 2 inclusion, though to be honest, I don’t think it’s too forced. The Water Shuriken ability lets you discard a water energy from your hand to place 3 damage counters on one of your opponents Pokemon. Sounds simple enough, but then you realize that with multiple Greninja and enough energy retrieval cards, you can being doing a lot of damage per turn without even attacking! Suddenly, this opens the door to a whole new world of deck strategies.
(10) Heavy Charm: Heavy charm is what Eviolite SHOULD have been, a card that works on any Pokemon evolved or not (seriously, why did they make so many cards that only benefited already uber powerful basics?). This is one of the few cards I can see benefitting Mega Exes. Their high HP means it will take more hits to knock them out and you’ll reduce more damage. There really isn’t much else to say, Eviolite was (and still is) a good card, and this is even better. Try it out.
(9) Professors Letter, Roller Skates, Red Card : This is a three in one, because they are share a similar function, they’re item versions of supporters. They wouldn’t be that strong if they were supporters, but as items, you can play as many as you want a turn and still play your supporter. We’ve seen this with Bicycle and now we have 3 more in this upcoming set. We have Professors Letter to get you a couple of energy, roller skates to draw you some cards (though on a flip), and Red Card to disrupt your opponent’s hand or deck them out late game. As items, these are very neat cards. I don’t know how good they will be, but I see a lot of potential.
(8) Evolutionary Soda: This one I think is slightly overrated. When you look at it compared to other search cards, it’s really not anything broken. That said, it IS a nice search card and does open the door to more evolutions being played (mainly stage 1s). This is especially good for Pokemon that are out of range of Level or Heavy Ball. It doesn’t grab basics, which does hurt when you’re in top deck mode, but it’s a welcome addition to our library of search items.
(7) Xerneas EX: There isn’t a whole lot to say about Xerneas EX. The HP is good and the attacks deliver for their expensive cost. X Blast doesn’t OHKO any Exes, but it does put them at 30HP, within sniping range of Break Through. But it’s really not anything game breaking. What makes this card unique is it’s typing, it’s one of the first Fairy Pokemon cards. Knowing TPCI, when a new type is created, they will give that type some excellent support...
(6) Slurpuff / Aromatisse: And they didn’t disappoint. Here we have two stage 1 Fairys with abilities that give Pokemon with Fairy energy special powers. One gives you immunity to special conditions (just like Virizion EX), and the other gives you the power to move your Fairy energy around the board (Hydreigon). We know how good these abilities are with other types so there’s no doubt it’s going to be good here, especially together. And since they are only stage 1s, it’s much easier to get them both into play at once. I don’t know if these will make Fairies a top tier deck, but it sure is a step in the right direction.
(5) Muscle Band: Dark Claw has seen quite a bit of play. Muscle Band is the exact same thing as Dark Claw, but it can be put on any Pokemon. I don’t think I need to go into detail explaining why this is good. Anything that boosts damage output seems to shine in this game. Now, this does have some competition with Silver Bangle, a tool that does 10 more damage. However, Bangle is specific for battles between your non EX and their EX. Muscle Band can work with any Pokemon at any time. It’s a simple card, but it’s a powerful one that should surely see some play.
(4) Trevenant: I’m sure most know what a pain in the rear Gothitelle can be. Well, it just got a whole lot worse because Trevenant has the same annoying item lock ability, but it’s on a stage 1. Easier to get into play, no need to run Rare Candy (freeing up four deck slots for other cards), and it’s just as disruptive. There really isn’t much else to say. Expect this to be the bane of your existence (that is unless you’re playing it in your deck, then it’s the bane of your opponents existence).
(3) Yveltal EX: Yveltal EX is sort of a cross between Darkrai and Mewtwo EX. It has the dark typing, giving it easy acceleration with Dark Patch/Sableye, but it’s attacks are more like Mewtwo. For a Dark and a Colorless, Evil Ball is similar to X Ball. The cost keeps it from being splashable, but it balances out with 20 more damage and easy acceleration with Dark Patch. Y Cyclone is also a pretty solid attack, doing a nice 90 for 3 energy, and moving your energy to the bench before you get knocked out. All in all, both attacks are strong, the typing is strong, the fighting resistance is strong (it complements Darkrai), it’s just a strong card. I’m pretty sure it will be one of the top 10 Exes when the set comes out.
(2) Xerneas and Yveltal Promos: As good as their EX cards are, they are outclassed by their one prize counterparts. I think Xerneas pretty much confirms that Fairies are going to be more than viable. It already had some clever tricks, but adding the easy built in acceleration (even if it is in attack form) to a deck that also has the means to move it around the board is evil. On top of providing much needed acceleration to the Fairy Archetype, this is also a darn good attacker. 100 damage for 3 energy is very good on a non EX basic (even if you do have to discard one). Yveltal is nothing to scoff at either. 30 damage for one energy AND a built in Dark Patch? Ridiculous. Like Xerneas, it also has a nice 100 for 3 attack, but with a more manageable drawback, (thanks to Darkrai providing free retreat). Overall, these cards are ridiculously good. 130HP, powerful attacks, some built in acceleration, and they only give up one prize. What more can you ask for? Dark and Fairy decks get a HUGE boost with these guys.
And the number one card this set *drumroll*…
(1) Rainbow Energy: Yes, a reprint, but it’s not from BW (last we saw Rainbow Energy was HGSS) so I’m not going against my own rules by including this. This is a wild energy card that lets you splash in any pokemon you need to attack. Though evolutions get the obvious benefits of a this, I think big basics actually get the most benefit. Now, a player can put EIGHT wild energy cards in their decks. This allows for endless possibilities.
So that's my list. As always, feel free to comment or add your own list.
Since this is a unique set, I want to go over some cards that won’t be on the list :
>Mega Exs: I just don’t think they’re worth that turn they give up. Venusaur is especially bad since it requires FOUR energy with no easy means of acceleration. I think you’d have an easier time setting up Cradily (PLB) than this. Blastoise is a little bit better. Thanks to Deluge Blastoise, you should have no problem getting the energy onto it. So for that one deck, it’s an option, but I still think Blastoise (Deluge) has better things to work with that don’t give up a turn. If I’m going to give up a turn, I better be doing 200 damage the next turn and these Mega Pokemon don’t deliver on the front.
>Reprints of cards from B/W: This includes cards that have a different name. I see no reason to include something like Professor Sycamore when it does the exact same thing as Professor Juniper. Heck, it might as well be named Juniper since according to a recent ruling, you can’t total 4 or either card.
Without further ado, here are my top 12:
(12) Team Flare Grunt: A crushing hammer without the coin flip or, for those who played during the base set days, energy removal. The catch is that this is a supporter, which keeps this from becoming broken, but with the rise in non-supporter draw engines, it might pop up in a few decks. Keep a look out for this.
(11) Greninja: This is my mandatory stage 2 inclusion, though to be honest, I don’t think it’s too forced. The Water Shuriken ability lets you discard a water energy from your hand to place 3 damage counters on one of your opponents Pokemon. Sounds simple enough, but then you realize that with multiple Greninja and enough energy retrieval cards, you can being doing a lot of damage per turn without even attacking! Suddenly, this opens the door to a whole new world of deck strategies.
(10) Heavy Charm: Heavy charm is what Eviolite SHOULD have been, a card that works on any Pokemon evolved or not (seriously, why did they make so many cards that only benefited already uber powerful basics?). This is one of the few cards I can see benefitting Mega Exes. Their high HP means it will take more hits to knock them out and you’ll reduce more damage. There really isn’t much else to say, Eviolite was (and still is) a good card, and this is even better. Try it out.
(9) Professors Letter, Roller Skates, Red Card : This is a three in one, because they are share a similar function, they’re item versions of supporters. They wouldn’t be that strong if they were supporters, but as items, you can play as many as you want a turn and still play your supporter. We’ve seen this with Bicycle and now we have 3 more in this upcoming set. We have Professors Letter to get you a couple of energy, roller skates to draw you some cards (though on a flip), and Red Card to disrupt your opponent’s hand or deck them out late game. As items, these are very neat cards. I don’t know how good they will be, but I see a lot of potential.
(8) Evolutionary Soda: This one I think is slightly overrated. When you look at it compared to other search cards, it’s really not anything broken. That said, it IS a nice search card and does open the door to more evolutions being played (mainly stage 1s). This is especially good for Pokemon that are out of range of Level or Heavy Ball. It doesn’t grab basics, which does hurt when you’re in top deck mode, but it’s a welcome addition to our library of search items.
(7) Xerneas EX: There isn’t a whole lot to say about Xerneas EX. The HP is good and the attacks deliver for their expensive cost. X Blast doesn’t OHKO any Exes, but it does put them at 30HP, within sniping range of Break Through. But it’s really not anything game breaking. What makes this card unique is it’s typing, it’s one of the first Fairy Pokemon cards. Knowing TPCI, when a new type is created, they will give that type some excellent support...
(6) Slurpuff / Aromatisse: And they didn’t disappoint. Here we have two stage 1 Fairys with abilities that give Pokemon with Fairy energy special powers. One gives you immunity to special conditions (just like Virizion EX), and the other gives you the power to move your Fairy energy around the board (Hydreigon). We know how good these abilities are with other types so there’s no doubt it’s going to be good here, especially together. And since they are only stage 1s, it’s much easier to get them both into play at once. I don’t know if these will make Fairies a top tier deck, but it sure is a step in the right direction.
(5) Muscle Band: Dark Claw has seen quite a bit of play. Muscle Band is the exact same thing as Dark Claw, but it can be put on any Pokemon. I don’t think I need to go into detail explaining why this is good. Anything that boosts damage output seems to shine in this game. Now, this does have some competition with Silver Bangle, a tool that does 10 more damage. However, Bangle is specific for battles between your non EX and their EX. Muscle Band can work with any Pokemon at any time. It’s a simple card, but it’s a powerful one that should surely see some play.
(4) Trevenant: I’m sure most know what a pain in the rear Gothitelle can be. Well, it just got a whole lot worse because Trevenant has the same annoying item lock ability, but it’s on a stage 1. Easier to get into play, no need to run Rare Candy (freeing up four deck slots for other cards), and it’s just as disruptive. There really isn’t much else to say. Expect this to be the bane of your existence (that is unless you’re playing it in your deck, then it’s the bane of your opponents existence).
(3) Yveltal EX: Yveltal EX is sort of a cross between Darkrai and Mewtwo EX. It has the dark typing, giving it easy acceleration with Dark Patch/Sableye, but it’s attacks are more like Mewtwo. For a Dark and a Colorless, Evil Ball is similar to X Ball. The cost keeps it from being splashable, but it balances out with 20 more damage and easy acceleration with Dark Patch. Y Cyclone is also a pretty solid attack, doing a nice 90 for 3 energy, and moving your energy to the bench before you get knocked out. All in all, both attacks are strong, the typing is strong, the fighting resistance is strong (it complements Darkrai), it’s just a strong card. I’m pretty sure it will be one of the top 10 Exes when the set comes out.
(2) Xerneas and Yveltal Promos: As good as their EX cards are, they are outclassed by their one prize counterparts. I think Xerneas pretty much confirms that Fairies are going to be more than viable. It already had some clever tricks, but adding the easy built in acceleration (even if it is in attack form) to a deck that also has the means to move it around the board is evil. On top of providing much needed acceleration to the Fairy Archetype, this is also a darn good attacker. 100 damage for 3 energy is very good on a non EX basic (even if you do have to discard one). Yveltal is nothing to scoff at either. 30 damage for one energy AND a built in Dark Patch? Ridiculous. Like Xerneas, it also has a nice 100 for 3 attack, but with a more manageable drawback, (thanks to Darkrai providing free retreat). Overall, these cards are ridiculously good. 130HP, powerful attacks, some built in acceleration, and they only give up one prize. What more can you ask for? Dark and Fairy decks get a HUGE boost with these guys.
And the number one card this set *drumroll*…
(1) Rainbow Energy: Yes, a reprint, but it’s not from BW (last we saw Rainbow Energy was HGSS) so I’m not going against my own rules by including this. This is a wild energy card that lets you splash in any pokemon you need to attack. Though evolutions get the obvious benefits of a this, I think big basics actually get the most benefit. Now, a player can put EIGHT wild energy cards in their decks. This allows for endless possibilities.
So that's my list. As always, feel free to comment or add your own list.
