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Crimson Blaze is the mini-set for Mega Rising, bringing more iconic Mega Pokémon and a lab-themed environment. Although the trailer is rather low in information, JohannTryger and Bombo share their opinion about some of the unveiled cards
Here's the scale we're using:
: Unplayable pack filler (Rhydon)
: Niche tech or good for surprise factor (Shiny Gyarados)
: Solid tech or glue card (Indeedee ex)
: Very strong, is either a staple card or has potential to win a game on its own (Flareon ex)
: Meta-defining (Darkrai ex, Sabrina, Sylveon ex...)
Mega Charizard ex + Charmeleon
The card everyone has their eyes on, Mega Charizard Y ex really packs a Dive, and a Crimson one at that. Crimson Dive does a record-shattering 250 damage, with the energy cost being 3 and 1 energy. It does 50 recoil damage to itself, but that's puny considering it OHKOs 99% of all cards released, and likely more. Charmeleon is an excellent card due to its Ability Ignition, which allows it to accelerate a Fire energy onto itself when it evolves. It goes without saying that this pairs amazingly with other Charizard ex cards as well.
This card has a lot of support, with Lillie healing recoil damage, Moltres ex and Magby as energy accelerators, and Sabrina to KO what you need to, sometimes winning you the game on the spot if you made your opponent bring a Mega in the Active Spot. This is a Pokémon meant to ruin the hopes of other Mega Evolution decks, but has counters like Electric Oricorio.
JohannTryger's rating:
Just like its Genetic Apex ex counterpart when it was released, Mega Charizard Y ex has the only attack capable of one-shotting technically all Pokémon in the game, which automatically gives it a niche. Now, is this niche exploitable on a stage 2 Pokémon, weak to Suicune ex and Greninja (ex), that requires 4 Energy to attack and chips at itself after each attack? Previous Charizard ex had a first attack that made them usable either to self-sustain or to KO a baby without sacrificing in resource: this Mega Charizard might struggle to achieve that.
The current gold standard for a (Mega) Fire Pokémon ex is Mega Blaziken ex, a top tier threat in the Mega Rising metagame, capable of attacking from turn 4 and dealing more than half what Mega Charizard Y ex does thanks to the Burn status. The very interesting ability of Charmeleon powers up the upcoming Charizard a turn earlier if it's in the Active spot, but the gap in explosivity might secure Blaziken as the starter to go for. Still, being able to snipe a Mega Pokémon with Heatmor, followed by a Mega Charizard Y ex and a Cyrus might pull enough weight for the big lizard to find its way into, if not this metagame, at least a metagame in the future.
Bombo's rating:
Mega Venusaur ex
This is the epitome of both a balanced and a unique card. It has an eyesore-worthy retreat cost of 4, but don't let that deceive you; the 240 HP more than makes up for it. This is the highest max HP Pokémon ever released. Its attack, Critical Bloom, does 120 damage for 2 Grass and 2 Colorless energy, and causes the Active Pokémon to be both Asleep and Poisoned. These are both great status conditions to inflict.
For support, Venusaur has an army of it. Lillie and Leaf Cape can turn this into a defensive beast, Rare Candy could help get it online sooner, and Serperior can halve Critical Bloom’s energy cost. It can partner with Venoshock users It also gets support from another card mentioned later. Overall, a solid card.
JohannTryger's rating:
Following the references to Genetic Apex, Mega Venusaur ex now holds the record for the Pokémon with the most HP in Pokémon TCG Pocket, and an attack costing 2 and 2 .
It unfortunately loses its intermediate attack as well and only retain the most expensive one. Critical Bloom deals a baseline 120, actually 130 with the Poison status and an average 180 accounting for the Sleep coinflip, which turns Mega Venusaur ex into a knock out machine should it fail. An amazing bulk that can be further improved with Leaf Cape and Erika, the biggest question is how easy it is to bring the grass Pokémon to a harrowing 4 Energy in a cohesive shell. The biggest hope can come from babies: they can easily get the colorless requirement for Critical Bloom. And with Quick-Grow Extract (mentioned later on) to improve the consistency of type evolved Pokémon, there could be a deadly deck right around the corner. Ultimately, the sleep coinflip might be the biggest thing holding back Mega Venusaur ex, but it has definitely a lot of potential.
Bombo's rating:
Mega Blastoise ex
Now here's an energy-hungry card. Mega Blastoise ex has HP and retreat cost average to Venusaur and Charizard Y’s. Its attack, Triple Bombardment, does 130 damage for 2 and 1 energy. However, for 3 more energy, you get 50 damage snipe onto 2 of your opponent’s benched Pokémon. This is immediately sparking ideas in long-time players’ minds.
Yes, Misty and Blastoise go hand in hand. The huge energy requirements are no problem for Misty, who can easily get energy accelerated with some luck. Mantyke can get energy accelerated as well. Irida and Lillie can help tank hits, while Rare Candy helps get it into play sooner. Suicune and Greninja are excellent partners. Cyrus will have a field day due to Mega Blastoise’s sniping. Overall, another solid card.
JohannTryger's rating:
Mega Blastoise ex looks like one of the countless victims of the terrible design space caused by Misty, forcing Energy hungry strategy to be bound by coinflips. Mega Blastoise ex's Triple Bombardment has a bad rate of 130 damage for 3 Energy on a Mega ex Pokémon with an upside only possible once it reaches a total of 6 Energy including 5 Energy, which is not realistically attainable in a competitively paced game. And the payoff isn't even great: shooting 50 damage to two benched Pokémon only secures a knock-out against a Baby opener that has long retreated, and no player will bench the others when they see Mega Blastoise ex coming. I can't see it becoming more than a gimmick, but its Mega status might redeem it from being just a pack filler.
Bombo's rating:
Mega Latios ex
There could be something for Mega Latios ex. Requiring and Energy to attack doesn't feel crazy: with how long Suicune ex + Giratina ex have dominated the metagame, a Dawn is enough to make Mega Latios ex live and capable of reaching damage threshold this deck couldn't before. Unfortunately, 160 damage isn't aligning with anything in the metagame, even with the extra 20 damage of Water Shuriken, and having to discard its Energy is too steep of a requirement to make it relevant.
Bombo's rating:
Promos are seldom good, and this is no exception. Mega Latios ex does 160 damage with Sonic Impulse for 2 Water and 1 Psychic energy. It also requires you to discard all energy attached to it. While it has good bulk for a Basic, I am not ready to risk the entire game on something that will likely only attack twice. Overall, a mid card.
JohannTryger's rating:
Quick-Grow Extract
Quick-Grow Extract is one of the best consistency cards ever, though limited to a single type. It allows you to evolve a Grass Pokémon on your bench though the usual evolution rules apply. It takes cards from the deck, which is priceless as it now protects against bricks. Sunflora can use Quick-Grow Beam once you use Quick-Grow Extract to deal 60 damage for a single Grass energy. While you do need to evolve it, Quick-Grow Extract can simply do that for you! This is a great card, and expect Grass to have a field day.
JohannTryger's rating: ( for Sunflora
Quick-Grow Extract is the second evolving item in Pocket and an interesting one. Unlike a Rare Candy-type of evolution where you need both the Basic on field, the item and the Stage 2 in hand, Quick-Grow Extract just requires itself and the Pokémon, whether it's a Basic or a Stage 1. Since it only evolves a single stage and only applies to the type, its possible applications are more restricted and likely meant for Stage 1 Pokémon. Unfortunately, it cannot make evolve Eevee into Leafeon ex, and Exeggutor ex is now too slow for the metagame. Decidueye ex, the currently only competitive relevant deck, will get a slight boost in consistency from playing it, but being unable to choose whether the regular or the ex version of Decidueye gets into play might be a little awkward. Still, this consistency piece is full of untapped potential that might express itself later.
Bombo's rating:
Clemont + Heliolisk (Promo B)
Clemont allows you to get 2 random cards among Magneton, Heliolisk and Clemont’s Backpack. While we do not know about Clemont’s Backpack as of now, Magneton can be a great attacker once it evolves into Magnezone. Promo Heliolisk, arriving in a Wonder Pick event, does 120 damage for 2 Lightning electricity with Thunderbolt, but requires you to discard all energy attached to it. I personally believe that it is capable of good results, as it gets as many cards as Professor's Research while being specific.
JohannTryger's rating:
Clemont with just the knowledge of current sets is already a premium card: 1-point archetypes with Magnezone are still top contenders of the metagame, thanks to Magneton's Volt Charge, Magnezone's strong attack and Oricorio's ability to tank (Mega) Pokémon ex and win the exhaustion war. Giving support to one of the best deck of the format is by itself enough to make it a highly sought Supporter. The biggest problem of these decks have always been their consistency, and Clemont is a fantastic boon for them, to the point that the second Clemont is at risk of not being able to search anything...
While we have yet to know about what there is in his backpack, the upcoming Promo B Heliolisk (which will be available from January 9) raises the interest even more by offering a Pokémon capable of dealing 120 damage for just 2 Energy on a single-point package. Although running multiple evolution lines is generally a problem for consistency, Clemont pushes the design limits of Pokémon TCG Pocket to stages never seen before and shows a very encouraging first step towards more support for intermediate lines of evolution. If Clemont's Backpack is good, the Clemont supporter is definitely one of the best card of the whole metagame, for a good while.
Bombo's rating:
Serena
Rare are the tutors that guarantee to get the precise Pokémon you want, but Serena does exactly that by fetching a Mega Pokémon ex from your deck into your hand. Although I think not all Mega Pokémon ex decks are meant to actually play it (for instance, decks with Mega Absol ex), those that come online quickly such as Mega Blaziken ex will instantly slot two of this card for maximum consistency. I have a feeling this might not be as good as it seems, but the impartial reading of the card points to a staple in a good portion of Mega decks.
Bombo's rating:
This is soon-to-be a staple. Serena gets you a random Mega from your deck. This is on par with cards like Poké Ball, which speaks volumes. This is bound to make its way into most, if not all Mega decks