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Shining Revelry brings Ranked, Shiny Hunting, and 110 new cards to mess around with. As is tradition, I'm here to give some of my impressions on the new stuff we get to play around with - specifically, the Supporters and Pokémon EX this time around. Bombo will also give his own ratings. As a reminder, here's the rating scale we'll be using:
: Pack filler, stone cold unplayable trash (Rhydon)
: Niche tech, sometimes good for surprise factor (Dragonite)
: Solid, reasonable card (Origin-Forme Palkia)
: Staple, either a strong glue card or can sometimes carry a match (Marshadow)
: Meta-defining (Magnezone, Manaphy, Arceus EX, Sabrina...)
Giratina EX
After two false starts, the third cover legendary of Generation IV finally gets its own EX! While nothing can wash out the bad taste Triumphant Light Giratina left in my mouth, Giratina EX does its best. Its Broken-Space Bellow is only the third effect in the entire game - and so far the only one on an Ability as opposed to a Supporter - that allows an energy attachment on turn one going first, which is startlingly powerful. It does end your turn any turn it is used, which means you are banned from both attacking and using Broken-Space Bellow in the same turn. However, this moreso adds a deckbuilding puzzle of making sure we have a strong tank in front to effectively nullify the downside –it's not like a card like Druddigon or Giratina (STS) is interested in attacking anyway! In fact, Giratina EX gains additional synergy from its baseline counterpart from Space-Time Smackdown, even going first:
- Broken-Space Bellow turn 1 (Giratina EX energy at 1)
- Attach to Giratina EX, Broken-Space Bellow turn 2 (Giratina EX energy at 3)
- Attach to Baby Giratina, retreat for free with Levitate. Play Dawn to attach the fourth energy to Giratina EX and attack with Chaotic Impact.
This line of play works going second and does not require Dawn in that case, as there will be four energy attached to Giratina EX after our second use of Broken-Space Bellow. We're also free to attach to Baby Giratina earlier and retreat if we're facing down lethal damage that would not threaten Giratina EX. As a backup plan, Mewtwo EX could function as an alternative attacker who, again, isn't attacking turn one anyway! Naturally, this would be null if Giratina EX's attack was poor damage; thankfully, Chaotic Impact hitting for 130 consistently is a known powerful breakpoint from fellow Big Basic Arceus EX.
Naturally, we can also learn from Magnezone and take advantage of the fact that we don't need to run energy at all; as an example, something like Druddigon/Giratina EX/Darkrai EX could easily be a replacement for the Magnezone line in the Darkzone archetype, freeing up four slots for trainer supports or other Basics. Greninja is another strong partner, allowing Giratina EX to hit the 150 damage breakpoint that is otherwise difficult to reach. Giratina EX is a flexible, strong EX that will assuredly see high amounts of play.
MKCrimson's Rating:
After a drought spell following the release of Space-Time Smackdown and Darkrai ex, it might be time for to rise again. Big Basic Pokémon ex and Energy acceleration is the recipe for success in Pokémon TCG Pocket, and Giratina ex combines both. Self-Energy acceleration on a Basic Pokémon is a first, and the lukewarm results of Leafeon ex, despite being able to accelerate other Pokémon as well, makes evaluating this card a little more tricky, especially since Broken-Space Bellow comes at the cost of a resource that's never been used like this in Pokémon TCG Pocket so far: your attack phase.
It's also easy to see its downsides: its single attack deals 130 damage, a terrible miss in a meta where 140HP is the baseline HP stat for Pokémon ex, with a recoil damage that ironically makes Giratina ex go under this breakpoint for an easy KO by an opposing Arceus ex or Giratina ex, and it's very Energy-hungry with few room to make splashing it possible (besides relinquishing 3 of your turns). Nevertheless, Giratina ex is destined to be the most experimented Pokémon ex of the new set and I'm excited to see what players come with, although i'm a little concerned that it just boils down to Druddigon types of decks.
Bombo's Rating:
Tinkaton EX
Tinkaton EX looks awkward at first blush, potentially only hitting 80 damage for 3 energy - on a Stage 2 EX, no less! However, the expected value for Terrific Thumping is actually 120 damage, which puts it at the same expected damage output as Machamp EX. Unlike Machamp EX, Tinkaton EX comes with the valuable support of Dialga EX's Metallic Turbo, as well as benefitting from Adaman to supplement its high 170 HP. Naturally, if you're willing to gamble on a coin flip, 160 damage is more than enough to destroy virtually anything in its path, especially with a certain Supporter we'll be discussing later. Of course, being a Stage 2 means it is unlikely to supplant Arceus EX as Dialga EX's partner of choice, especially with Arceus EX's higher expected damage output with a full bench. A bad flip can also result in a game that is lost on the spot if you fail to secure the KO.
Overall, opportunity cost is Tinkaton EX's greatest enemy - if only it existed in STS! That said, don't sleep on the hammer too much - I can easily see a world where Tinkaton EX has success.
MKCrimson's Rating:
get their third Pokémon ex and i'm not excited about Tinkaton ex, just as I wasn't with Probopass ex. It shares the same base damage and attack cost as the big metal nose, but the added downside of requiring an extra evolution. Probopass ex barely saw the light of the day in competition and I don't expect Tinkaton ex to surpass it, unless somehow Tinkatuff is a worthy stage 1. Pokémon have got to realise that they're competing with Arceus ex, a Basic Pokémon, which is also a better attacker as it often hits for 130 damage while Tinkaton ex's average damage output is 120. Just compare Tinkaton ex with Exeggutor ex in terms of cost to opportunity ratio, and this tells you all you need to know about it.
Bombo's Rating:
Bibarel EX
I was hoping that the greatest HM bearer of all time would receive an EX worthy of its might. Sadly, Bibarel EX is a budget Venusaur EX that can't attack until it hits and can't benefit from Erika. Similar to Venusaur EX, 100 damage for 4 energy is a pitiful attacking rate. Dialga EX has better things to do than give 2 energy to a card that can't even attack the immediate following turn, and there aren't any other supporters that enable an early attack outside of something like Dawn with extra acceleration. Bibarel EX exists, technically. Which is not something you want to say about an EX Pokémon!
MKCrimson's Rating:
There's nothing Bibarel ex does that Lickilicky ex doesn't do better, except for the better Basic Pokémon it evolves from. Even then, nothing scales well with it, and if the metagame doesn't move too much, the weakness isn't gonna make it any better against Lucario Rampardos or Gallade ex decks.
Bombo's Rating:
Paldean Clodsire EX
Paldean Clodsire EX is the third of the Venoshock Pokémon that combo with Weezing + Koga to attempt a massive burst of damage. With a poisoned active target, Paldean Clodsire EX matches Scolipede at 120 damage for 2 attached energy while also being a Stage 1 instead of a Stage 2. Scolipede/Weezing shells saw brief success at the very beginning of Mythical Island in order to snipe the Mewtwo EX matchup, and the addition of Giratina EX gives another -weak target that gets KO'd from full HP by the full combo. The main issue is the retreat cost and the poor followup damage after executing the combo, making Paldean Clodsire EX a sitting duck. A secondary, larger issue is Arceus EX being completely immune to Poison and thus being chunked by a Venoshock.
If there ends up being Poison support that works from the bench or a strong secondary attacker for the deck, this is the card that could easily turbo-charge the Venoshock archetype thanks to being a big improvement over Muk, and faster to get online than Scolipede. As it stands, Paldean Clodsire EX is an upgrade to the best attacker in a bad deck.
MKCrimson's Rating:
Venoshock decks have been a consistent fun and budget choice thanks to the Koga engine from Genetic Apex, and this time Paldean Clodsire ex synthesizes all the good aspects of Muk and Scolipede: a stage 1 Venoshock user for while also packing a very relevant 160HP. It's expected that Paldean Wooper can inflict Poison, which makes Paldean Clodsire ex pretty deadly on curve. We can expect it to take down Pokémon like Palkia ex and Dialga ex just on turn 4 with attack and Poison damage.
Unfortunately, Muk and Scolipede didn't perform particulary well even at the time of their release, and the same fate might befall Clodsire ex: it looks like a one-hit wonder with no gas in the middle or late game. As long as no Pokémon or Trainer is capable of poisoning, you have to rely exclusively on your Active Pokémon's attack or abilities to inflict the status on the Defending Pokémon. Not only it needs a two-turn setup, it's also very hard to achieve with their poor bulk or their hefty retreat cost, which also plagues Paldean Clodsire ex; not to mention it's easy to play around by just retreating or evolving. It can and will shine against Big Basic starters with a high retreat cost, but will fall short in nearly every other regard.
Bombo's rating:
Beedrill EX
Beedrill EX is going to be the most underrated card in Shining Revelry. Again, its attack does not look very powerful at first glance, as 80 damage on a Stage 2 EX is incredibly low. However, Crushing Spear is also the first 100% reliable on-curve energy disruption in TCG Pocket. This functions as a counter to EX Pokémon that require large amounts of energy to present a threat to Beedrill EX; notably, Palkia EX suddenly requires good Misty RNG in order to threaten more than 30 damage a turn before getting 2-shot by Beedrill EX, and Celebi EX requires incredible coinflip luck or an active Serperior in order to, again, do any meaningful damage. Erika enables Beedrill to simply sit in front and swing constantly. The retreat cost in conjunction with the attack cost and 170 HP enables Beedrill EX to function as a pivot for aggressive, low-energy strategies utilizing strong attacking Basics such as Kangaskhan and Farfetch'd, or as a disruptive frontliner to enable Celebi EX ramp. The existing Weedle and Kakuna allow Beedrill EX to attack consistently on curve going first, as well.
Of course, the energy discard only functions on the opposing active, meaning tanks like Druddigon that don't want any energy attached anyway naturally cut into the value you can get from Crushing Spear. On the other hand, strong use of Sabrina could easily drag an energy-hungry benched sweeper into play anyway and potentially end the game on the spot. This is the single card I am the most interested in deckbuilding with of the ones we've seen. It also has my favorite Shiny color scheme, so I'm hoping for good Shiny luck!
MKCrimson's Rating:
Although 170HP and an attack on curve are very enticing features, Beedrill ex is held back by the borderline poor damage output of its Crushing Spear attack; to put things in perspective, 80 damage for 2 Energies is what we pretty much expect from a Stage 1 Pokémon ex. The added effect of discarding an Energy keeps losing in value as the game prints more Energy acceleration engines, which ultimately makes me very skeptical about Beedril ex's efficiency. The regular Beedrill had a niche and this might have one as well, but I don't see how it solves the main problem of decks: the lack of a strong, reliable attack.
Bombo's Rating:
Lucario EX
Meet Cyrus's new best friend! Lucario EX hits the oddly efficient breakpoint of 130 damage for 3 energy with the caveat that 30 of it is aimed at the bench. However, Aura Sphere is the new gold standard for comboing with Cyrus, as Lucario EX ends up with incredible flexibility for where its damage goes and can easily end up machine-gunning double KOs with help from the Team Galactic kingpin. In exchange, Aura Sphere does not provide very much in the way of one-shot pressure, requiring either weakness or a "baby" Lucario in play. The limit to 2 Riolu in a deck also means that Lucario EX cannot have 2 baby Lucario on the bench to provide double Fighting Coach value. However, there are already situations that come up against high-tier decks that Lucario EX excels in; for instance, one-shotting an active Druddigon and threatening a Cyrus-aided KO on a benched Magnezone.
Conversely, decks like Water 18 Trainers that are disinclined to place additional Pokémon on the bench will also be naturally resistant to the extra damage from Aura Sphere; in particular Irida is a frustrating card for Lucario EX to deal with, as it is doubly effective against Lucario EX's spread pressure. Lucario EX will be meta-dependant, but incredible when enabled.
MKCrimson's Rating:
I don't see more opportunities to playing Lucario ex than as a 3rd Lucario in a deck playing 2 of the classic Lucario, for the added flexibility to turn Riolu into a good mid to late game attacker if Fighting Coach isn't relevant to the board state. I'm not super hot on the 30 damage bench snipe that Hitmonlee does better without needing to evolve, but since decks playing Lucario usually don't run Hitmonlee as it doesn't benefit from Fighting Coach, this might be the way to make up for it.
I'm not super sold on the discourse, cause the strength of decks running Hitmonlee is to make their 2-of Cyrus live very early in the game, which definitely cannot be the case for a Pokémon with an attack costing . Still, it's a decent Pokémon and most likely an auto-include in every decks running 2 Lucario currently.
Bombo's Rating:
Wugtrio EX
It only took the third mini-set to power-creep Dragonite. Wugtrio EX has barely less damage potential than Dragonite in exchange for coming online consistently and faster, both thanks to its mono- typing. Manaphy and Dawn can combine to enable a second-turn Pop Up Throughout for a split 150 damage, and Wugtrio is also an obvious target for Misty. Unlike Lucario EX, Wugtrio EX is a direct punishment to any opponent who does not play heavily to the bench to mitigate the random damage rolls, such as 18 Trainers decks. That said, any opponent that does heavily play to the bench is unlikely to suffer immediate KO's unless you are incredibly fortunate. Additional attacking partners such as either forme of Palkia seem necessary in order to convert your spread damage into points. That said, 150 damage for 3 energy is hard to say no to. Even so, it is still uncontrolled damage in most situations, so beware relying too hard on RNG to smile upon you.
MKCrimson's Rating:
Wugtrio ex looks like it's the main ingredient for these troll decks that will frustrate the heck out of players on day 1 ranked. The obvious Manaphy + Wiglett start into Retreat for Wugtrio ex + Dawn; or simply Wiglett into Wugtrio ex + Misty play for a 150 damage on turn 3 or 4, sounds like hell on earth and will do quite the number against decks with a bunch of Basic Pokémon. The unreliable nature of Pop Out Throughout will thankfully make players shun away from this gimmick after a day of playing it, but we can expect some emotional damage from facing it!
Bombo's Rating:
Charizard EX
Charizard EX is the first alternative EX forme that has been printed in TCG Pocket. The most obvious change compared to its Genetic Apex counterpart is the significantly lower damage ceiling, as Steam Artillery threatens 150 damage as opposed to Crimson Storm's 200. While this does eliminate its allergy to Mew EX hacking its genome, it instead will lose the heads-up matchup against its heavier-hitting sibling.
In exchange, Stoke enables Charizard EX to set up even in the event that Moltres EX flips too few heads with Inferno Dance in addition to providing some small inoculation to Sabrina, as a Steam Artillery is guaranteed the following turn barring some energy disruption or getting knocked out. 150 is still among the higher single-damage swings in the game, meaning that the vast majority of threats still cannot ignore the threat Charizard EX poses.
However, 5 energy is also a tall ask in the event that there is high pressure into the active slot, such as against opposing Rampardos. I'm not willing to count out Steam Artillery Charizard EX, but I am unconvinced it solves the archetype's existing problems. Even so, it's solid enough on rate to give a chance.
MKCrimson's Rating:
It's very hard to rate Charizard ex without seeing what other cards will be printed, as its viability depends on what Pokémon to pair it with. The shy attempts of playing evolved Pokémon with Heatran haven't been remarkable so far, and if Moltres ex remains the best partner for Charizard ex, then there's little reason to play this new Charizard ex that, unlike the one from Genetic Apex, doesn't have a "one shot" attack. Worse, Steam Artillery misses the one-shot mark against a bunch of popular Pokémon ex equipped with Giant Cape. Costing 5, it's barely usable outside of using Stoke first, which comes at the cost of leaving Charizard ex exposed for a turn.
Being able to build up from just 1 Energy is however interesting and I'm hopeful that we'll get a Charmeleon capable of attacking for just 1 Energy to curve out naturally into this Charizard ex: turn 2 Charmander attacks with Ember, turn 4 Charmeleon attacks, turn 6 Charizard ex uses Stoke, turn 8 Charizard ex uses Steam Artillery. I'm not convinced it's enough but it's certainly worth trying.
Bombo's Rating:
Pikachu EX and Pachirisu
The electric rodent mascots are finally here to team up, and the results might shock you. Pachirisu is a strong card even not counting its obvious synergy with the new forme of Pikachu EX, as we've seen Dialga EX and Manaphy both define tier one archetypes with similar attacks. Pachirisu splits the middle, netting one less energy than either of them in exchange for a small damage threat and higher bulk than Manaphy. Pikachu EX's Thunderbolt is the followup threat, as any sort of retreat aid such as X Speed or Shaymin (TL) combined with Dawn will enable a turn two 150 damage directly into the active slot, which is frighteningly high so early into a game.
The forced discard also enables Volkner as a potential followup, guaranteeing plentiful energy in the bin to attach to a Luxray or Electivire. That said, Pikachu EX's damage is much more sporadic compared to its Genetic Apex counterpart, and it cannot benefit from Lt. Surge for additional routes to 150. I expect to see some experimentation with Pikachu EX, but its low bulk combined with its less consistent damage could lead to disappointment outside of the combo routes with Pachirisu.
MKCrimson's Rating: Pachirisu , Pikachu EX
Pachirisu comes as the discount Manaphy of the set for Pokémon with an extra 10 damage added, which is more of a liability than a boon in a Rocky Helmet-infested metagame.
Pikachu ex also fails to pump me as it's essentially a do-nothing for 3 turns that gets back to doing nothing after its big blow; at least Raichu evolved from Pikachus that could present a threat while they were on their Basic stage of Evolution. But it's a Basic that reliably deals more than 100 damage, which is a novelty on its own and is worth considering. The idea of the 10 damage from Pachirisu is to make sure Pikachu ex fells the opponent's Active Pokémon even when equipped with a Giant Cape, and decks not running Shaymin or Potion will constantly live in the fear of the mouse and Cyrus.
I fail to see the obvious venue for these cards at this stage, but they're gonna be one of the most interesting to experiment on.
Bombo's Rating: Pachirisu , Pikachu EX
Iono
Iono might look like it fills a role similar to Red Card or Mars, but you will be incredibly disappointed playing for the disruptive effect in the vast majority of decks. Instead, Iono functions more as an added high-risk option to draw into a Stage 1 or 2 evolution after exhausting options such as Pokémon Communication. As this consumes your supporter for the turn, this really is a "break in case of emergency" in the event you really need to evolve on curve to swing a game. I can easily see Stage 2 decks trying to find room for a single copy, and I can also see people trying to use it as a hail mary to stop an opponent from evolving. It's easily going to be the 20th card in a deck even in a best case.
MKCrimson's Rating:
This is one of the most expected card of the set from the reactions, but people might be too biased by the rather similar Iono they're used to playing in the TCG, a staple with a "comeback" mechanic. I'm not high on cards that gives a venue for the opponent to improve their hand while you essentially relinquish 1 card in strict Card advantage terms to make it happen. Historically, cards with similar effects in various card games (shuffle your hand into your deck, draw the same amount of cards that you shuffled back) are at best middling.
And yet, Chatot has seen uses. Fossil decks as well as decks playing a stage 2 Pokémon will likely include at least a Iono to improve their chances at getting their strategy online more quickly. It remains to determine how much they end up doing it at their own expenses by allowing their opponent to potentially draw into a better hand.
Bombo's Rating:
Red
There's something about the A2 sets and printing meta-defining Supporters. Red is easy to understand - against any EX Pokémon, he is simply a double Giovanni, which is a clearly absurd damage amp. Sudowoodo with the help of Red and even a single benched Lucario's Fighting Coach threatens a gargantuan 90 damage into any random EX in the opposing active. This isn't even counting the ability to simply empower existing strong attackers, such as enabling Arceus EX's Ultimate Force to deal 150 damage. The only point against Red is he is completely useless against non-EX actives, which means the popularity of Red might affect the viability of Red. When the best way to counter a card is to purposefully avoid playing 2-point Pokémon, which are generally some of the strongest in the game, that's generally a good sign for its strength.
MKCrimson's Rating:
You get to be a legend by taking down your opponent's strongest Pokémon. The final starting character and main protagonist of Pokémon Red is coming with a very nifty Supporter card that will change entire dynamics in the game. Think: Arceus ex is now capable of one-shotting Dialga ex; Magnezone is now capable of one-shotting Palkia ex; Giant Cape on a Pokémon ex is essentially nullified; the list goes on. Pokémon ex have been the backbone of the Pokémon TCG Pocket metagame since its inception and Giovanni has never ceased to be a relevant tech. Although technically situational, Red's impact on the game is destined to be tremendous.