pokemon-paradijs.comWhat this article will include has probably already been discussed to death by both your local community as well as players overseas. Next Destinies brings to us what veteran players have been playing with several years ago; ubers in card form with the drawback of letting your opponent take an extra prize, similar to most Legends, or the beloved Expert Belt, everyone’s favorite tool card of yesteryear.
But the Pokémon aside, what has gotten the serious players really excited are the slew of new Items, Supporters and Stadium cards that might be available in time for States, and whether they will break the stagnant engine that is omnipresent in every deck right now.
For the record, let’s list out the decks that have been making the top tiers around the world (at least, according to 6P):
Tier 1
- Magneel
- ZPST
Tier 1.5
- Tyram
The Truth variants- Chandelure (Vileplume variants)
- 6 Corners
Tier 2
- Durant
- CoKE
- Donphan & Dragons
- PrimeTime (Magnezone/Yanmega)
- LantEel
- Zeel
Personally, I would drop off the LantEel as I don’t think it is a strong enough deck, considering Lanturn’s HP. Opinions aside, this article is about how ND will affect our metagame, particularly for States.
I am assuming that all the remaining cards from Hail Blizzard and Psycho Drive will be included, plus additions from the Zekrom-EX and Reshiram-EX decks. Pokébeach.com has the scans and pretty accurate translations, check them out.
Let’s begin with the card that has the biggest hype at the moment, no thanks to our friends up North in Japan: Mewtwo EX.
Mewtwo EX variants
Its statistics are quite something. It has a maximum HP of 170, not something you can 1-shot with ease. And it only has a Retreat Cost of two. The lack of Resistance isn’t really surprising though, and like the other Pokémon-EX, gives up 2 Prizes upon KO.
Fortunately, its Psychic Weakness is simply glaring: mirror matches and Mew Prime will have a heyday on this little beast. But the true power of Mewtwo EX is the fact that its main attack, X Ball, effectively makes it a Colorless type. For the cost of two C Energy, it does 20 damage times the amount of Energy attached to BOTH Active Pokémon.
Also, ANY Energy acceleration will work on the beast. The top contenders are Celebi Prime, combined with Skyarrow Bridge (one of the new Stadium cards) for free retreat, and Eelektrik, for amazing mid-game presence. Other engines include Typhlosion Prime, whose strategy with Reshiram speaks for itself, and the new Gardevoir, who can make any P Energy turn into a purple Double Colorless Energy.
The scary thing about it is that, being a Basic Pokémon that is easily charged up, Seeker/Super Scoop Up is the last thing your opponent would want to see. Also, with Pokémon Center soon to be a Stadium card (previously a Trainer card) and Potion now healing for 30 instead of 20, it is going to take a lot to Knock Out this Frieza reincarnate.
What makes Mewtwo EX truly a monster is how it can turn your own strategy against you. Any energy cards on your field becomes a liability, and even if you act conservatively, Mewtwo’s damage cap is already the same as Magnezone Prime and Scizor Prime; that is to say, none. So how do you counter this science freak?
pokemon-paradijs.comApart from playing the same deck yourself, Mew Prime comes to mind first. Able to hit for Weakness, it can send to the Lost Zone any Pokémon that can do a minimum of 90 damage, including Mewtwo EX itself, for a one-on-two hard counter. Remember, both of you are 1HKO-ing each other, but Mew does not have the prize penalty of an EX. However, you would possibly fall against other decks due to its fragility.
Another method is to play a most unexpected attacker: Yanmega Prime. It requires no energy, thus fears only the energy on Mewtwo itself, while the latter needs to pile up six Energy to 1HKO Yanmega. A turn 1 Eviolite, however, forces Yanmega to attack at least four times to KO a Mewtwo, and other Pokémon, namely Reshiram, does this more efficiently.
However, an even better attacker, one that is already making waves today, might be the answer to our problems: Magnezone Prime. As of now, there are no Pokémon-EX that exceeds the 180 HP benchmark, and Eviolite only pushes this up to 200HP.
Mathematicians can see the answer as clear as day: only four Energy Cards need to be burned for 2 Prizes. That’s two Energy Cards per prize, which is lesser on average than Magnezone variants need to LZ in today’s metagame to 1HKO the Opponent’s main attacker. A fast Magneel can dish out this much damage easily, and puts the pressure on the Mewtwo EX player.
In fact, Magnezone variants would probably benefit the most from this next set of cards: the Ball Engine.
Return of the Ball Engine
BulbapediaJuniper is starting to look better than ever. With Item lock on the downward spiral, Trainer engines are making a comeback with some serious backup.
Heavy Ball allows the player to search for any Pokémon with a Retreat Cost of 3-of higher, while Level Ball searches out any Pokémon with 90HP or less. Heavyweights like Magnezone Prime, Donphan Prime, and Ability Boar are now easily searchable, increasing their potential even more, while Eelektrik engines become much easier to set up.
Special mention must be made to Ultra Ball, the only really splashable card we may get. It works similar to Junk Arm, requiring you to discard two cards to search out any Pokémon Card. It works especially well for Typhlosion and Eelektrik engines.
In fact, I can envision the future of Magneel to look something like this:
|
Pokémon – 17 |
Trainers – 29 1 PONT 3 N 2 Pokégear 3.0 4 Junk Arm 2 Switch |
Energy – 14 12 L 2 Rescue |
In fact this decklist can probably be tweaked for the return of ReshiBoar, utilising Reshiram-EX and Fliptini.
Personally, the only other Item card I am really excited to see is the return of EXP Share in LostGar decks. It is more effective than the new Gardevoir in charging up Mew/Gengar Prime for hurling Pokémon into the Lost Zone, and is one of the new combos I am trying out.
Big is Better
pokemon-paradijs.comThe dragons return centre stage to wrestle with Mewtwo EX for top spot. Both can Reshiram-EX and Zekrom-EX can deal a maximum of 150, up from 120 of their current counterparts. Their effects have also been reversed, with Zekrom-EX needing to discard two energy (DCE counts) and Reshiram-EX with a 50-50 chance of a 50-damage recoil.
Off the bat, we can already guess their preferred partners: Eelektrik and Fliptini.
The Japanese meta has Zekrom-EX paired with Eelektriks and Switch, and sometimes Shaymin UL, along with maxed-out DCE to power up this, er, powerhouse. The deck works very similar to the current Tyram except for its inability to attach to the active.
One good thing about Strong Volt’s discard effect is that, like the normal Reshiram, it forces Mewtwo EX to power itself up for the kill, or else force a 2HKO, and the latter is usually the preferred route given their resources, especially when you consider how neither dragons, EX or not, can 1HKO Mewtwo EX anyway.
Reshiram-EX decks can still work ala Tyram, but the damage induced is certainly no small matter, unless you decide to fit in Potion or Pokémon Center. Instead, Ability Boar may finally be the better option as Reshiram-EX does not need to discard Energies for Brave Fire.
Fliptini reduces your chances of recoil by a fairly large margin, and Switch/Seeker combo or SSU can help keep it alive for a while, similar to Mewtwo EX’s supposed survival technique, backed up by Inferno Fandango to keep the pressure on.
pokemon-paradijs.comIn some Japanese decklists, you may notice some Mewtwo decks sporting a copy of Shaymin EX or Regigigas-EX. Let’s look at the these instances and how they work.
Shaymin EX’s first attack is reminiscent of Tangela CoL, and can be used, if it starts first, to power up Mewtwo EX using a Celebi Prime engine. But its real value is in its second attack, Revenge Burst.
For one Grass and one C Energy, it has a base damage of 30 that increases by the same amount for every prize your Opponent takes, which means by end game, it can swing up to 180 damage, enough to KO anything without Eviolite. This surprise factor, especially when combined with the supporter N to force a dead hand on your Opponent, can easily turn the game in your favor.
Think of it as Bouffalant’s Revenge attack on steroids for late games. And while we’re at it, throw in a Black Belt for extra measure if you wish.
The first translation of Regigigas-EX to appear had everybody scrambling to find ways to utilise its Giga Power attack for a first-turn KO. After the correction, people then started looking at its other attack.
Raging Hammer is a familiar attack for those playing any variation of the current dragons; in fact, it is an almost exact copy of Outrage. With the same whopping 180 HP, Regigigas can sure take a hit, and Raging Hammer is a guaranteed threat to any of the dragons or Mewtwo EX.
Unfortunately, the attack cost is equally scary, at double the Energy Cost of Outrage, and because of the nature of the attack, fails as a surprise revenge attacker, and instead works as a staller.
How it affects the current meta
Many people are wondering how Next Destinies is going to affect the current meta. Can the big three (Tyram, Magneel, ZPST) still hold its own? Are rogue decks forever dead? Is there any chance of me ever using Durant again?
Thinking back to the Holon era where the original Pokémon-ex reached their peak, it may come as a surprise to know that, while the Pokémon-ex dominated, other decks still stood a pretty damn decent chance. This is because of the way the Pokémon-ex and Pokémon-EX work: they gave up 2 Prizes upon KO. (Or maybe because the speedster of that era, Banette-ex, only had 90 HP.)
So let’s look at some simple math.
All the Pokémon-EX can be equipped with Eviolite, so we will assume they have one on them in a worst-case scenario situation.
- Mewtwo EX: 170 HP (190 with Eviolite)
- Zekrom-EX: 180 HP (200 with Eviolite)
- Reshiram-EX: 180 HP (200 with Eviolite)
- Regigigas-EX: 180 HP (200 with Eviolite)
- Shaymin EX: 110 HP (130 with Eviolite)
This is how much damage you need to do to 1HKO any of them. Shaymin EX is the only exception, although this fact is negated as it is usually used as a late-game sweeper. For the rest, take into account that you get 2 Prizes per KO. The math thus stands as such:
- Mewtwo EX: 90 per prize (110 with Eviolite)
- Zekrom-EX: 90 per prize (110 with Eviolite)
- Reshiram-EX: 90 per prize (110 with Eviolite), assume heads on Brave Fire
- Regigigas-EX: 90 per prize (110 with Eviolite)
Suddenly the matchup looks pretty winnable. Assuming no healing, Any of the current meta decks can deal the required damage every turn, even Tornadus EPO with a PlusPower. The challenge instead becomes recyclability of attackers, or how you to constantly deal as much damage turn after turn. It’s basically a race against the clock: 6 Prizes in six turns.
Tyram probably has the easiest time dealing with new decks not named Mewtwo. It has already proven its ability to recycle Reshirams turn after turn without fail, so long as two Typhlosions are at the ready. Even after two Afterburners, Reshiram still has a relatively healthy HP of 110, forcing Mewtwo EX to load up five energies just to 1HKO Reshiram. And with a PlusPower/Rocky Helmet, a non-Eviolited Reshiram-EX fears an instant revenge KO should the player flip a tails on Brave Fire (120+10+50=180).
Having an easier time is Magnezone Prime. The only prime still standing in the current Tier 1 bracket is also the only prime any of the new Pokémon-EX fears. Not only can Magnezone 1-shot any of them with ease, it does so with better efficiency than against its current Opponents. Two Lost Zoned Energy per prize is efficient indeed, and even more so against Shaymin EX should it have the unfortunate moment of being on the field early game.
One note, however, it’s that it is obviously not an easy job powering up Lost Burn. Four Energy cards can’t come from nowhere. The amount of resources to pull off KO after KO is very straining, unless you run Magneboar, and let’s face it, who still does?
And what about ZPST, that donk machine? Sadly, unless it can pull the donk, I don’t believe it will have much of a future. Its engine only works for early game, and as proven in the current meta, struggles as the game wears on, and this is something that will definitely come to pass as these super tankers stare down at them.
pokemon-paradijs.comRoss decks? Dead. A tanker that can’t tank is just meh, and I can’t see ANY variants who are able to tank out the repeated onslaught. At least Chandelure can inflict status, and has a decent chance against Mewtwo EX due to weakness, and Zekrom-EX by taking out Eelektriks.
CoKE and 6 Corners, now this is a hard one. Rumours are that these two decks are holding out well in Japan against the new decks. I don’t have much experience in them, so unfortunately, I cannot comment.
Word on the street, however, is that the MVP in both decks is Cobalion NVI, although only against Mewtwo EX. 120 HP may seem little, but with Eviolite and Resistance, this skyrockets to 160, and Special Metal jacks it up to a maximum of 200.
DnD is already lagging behind in the race, so I doubt it can catch up when the new set is released, especially since Exoskeleton is made redundant when Zekrom-EX, Reshiram-EX and Mewtwo EX all are able to 1HKO it. Maybe some tweaking can help.
It has a pretty good chance against Zekrom-EX because of Weakness, and Kyurem can make the matchup against Reshiram-EX bearable if it can take an early lead. And because it has a healthy amount of DCE in its build, it can tech in Mewtwo EX as well.
Finally, yes, I will definitely talk about that miserable insect, the destroyer of dreams, the irritant of players. I’m talking about Durant, of course.
pokemon-paradijs.comDurant is the oddball here. It is considered a Tier 2 deck due to its immense reliance on luck (crushing hammer, content of devour, etc), and its only saving grace happens to be the fact that it doesn’t need to take prizes to win, and that most Durant decks play Lost Remover (if you haven’t noticed by now, almost all Pokémon-EX relies on DCE).
Otherwise, Eviolite is close to redundant except against Mewtwo EX where it has a marginal advantage due to resistance, and catcher loses its efficiency with the introduction of Skyarrow Bridge. If Mewtwo EX does become big, adding Defender might help a little.
It can also run counter Stadiums, of course, or include techs like Hypno HS, and this has become the trademark of Durant: its ability to run amazing amounts of tech to deal with any situation. Otherwise, it’s 50/50 as usual, and is why it will forever remain second tier.
The Zekrom-EX matchup should be pretty good though, if the opponent does not run normal Zekroms as backup, as unlike Tyram, it doesn’t hit for Weakness. And personally, I never found the normal Zekrom a threat either, unless it donks.
Overall I feel that, while the new set will have a considerable impact on the metagame, it will not necessarily be as bad as most people envisioned it to be. Current meta decks simply need to be tweaked to deal with the new threats, and that’s something that is easily done.
I think 6 corners will just get stronger. They can use the bridge and prism energy, as well as using the EX pokemon themselves, they are still basics and they work well with DCE. Also I wouldn’t count Ross decks as dead, maybe the old versions with Donphan, but the Coballion varients, have resistence in mewtwo, and a lock effect.
but they cant abuse outrage. and the energy rquirement is huge since they have no energy accelration.
Actually gigas can, and the enrgy wont be as bad, as you could theroethically use celebi to power up virizons and stuff. Since Mewtwo is essentially colorless, Virizion is grass and the rest can be power up with rainbow/prism energy, it will probably run fine. I need to test of course, but that is the general idea
but celebi takes up card slots. not saying it wont work. but it won’t shine as well as it used to in todays meta.
Nice article! Thanks!
Just to let you know, Durant is actually considered tier 1 by a lot of people now.
Especially in Texas.The ants have overrun the meta down here, and it seems they can’t be stopped. 4 out of 8 Top Cut decks are Durant every tournament. We need more Heatmor (SNL cowbell theme….).
Odds are, Heatmor will definitely remove Durant from it’s Tier 1 position. However, I don’t think it’ll ruin the deck. It’s kind of like the Supply and Demand laws.
At first, you’ll see a lot of Heatmor play to make sure Durant is a win. Then, when Durant’s popularity is next to nothing, people will stop playing Heatmor, which then puts Durant in a position to do well again. Durant isn’t going to stay tier 1 that’s for sure, but I don’t think it’ll be a completely dead deck either. (although a Turn 2 Reshiram Ex causes a lot of problems for Durant, too.)
Durant is gone once the other Heatmor hits a set. You can put it in any deck and it is one colorless to use.
I don’t think that is true. I think that 1) most players will not utilize the slot to counter Durant with Heatmor because they already think they can handle it, and 2) most good Durant players assume that they will lose one Durant per turn already and are just happy when they don’t. This does not change that. I think the most Heatmor will do is allow decks with near autolosses (Vileplume, etc) a fighting chance…
Gotta agree with that. Durant runs tons of recovery.
I think Heatmor will be pretty effective in getting Durant out of the meta game. If someone drops a Heatmor turn one, then it probably won’t matter as the Durant player will have a Cobalion setup to ko it it after it takes one Durant. But the real threat that Heatmor poses to the Durant player is the donk. They start a lone Durant. The opposing player just has attach an energy to Heatmor and switch it to the active position for the donk.
Heatmor donking Durant is the real threat, and having the potential to lose on turn 1 to any deck in the format can’t be a good feeling going into a tournament.
Setup a cobalion takes 3 Turns to do that. In that time Heatmor can just catcher up durants and kill them.
Unless the durant player doesnt drop any durant but will straight up power up cobalion. Which is pretty stupid
how does cobalion counter durant?
Heatmor can’t take down cobalion easily, not when it has eviolite/special metal support. They will then try to set up another attacker, and that’s when you catcher/stall them.
not really. you see, heatmor + 1 energy = prize every turn, a 6 turn game
Given that you start with the Heatmor, which will almost never happen since it will most likely be used on it’s lonesome as a tech.
collector anyone.
You’d need either a baby start or a switch to go with that opening hand though, which doesn’t usually happen
no you dont LOL. T2 heatmor is still gg. even T3 heatmor DEVOURS durant
(Did you see what I did there?)
I was arguing against the idea of a 6 turn 6 prize game, not the fact that Heatmor owns Durant. Heatmor will definitely make Durant much less playable.
vileplume has autoloss to the ants. HAHAHAHAHA. i get a t2 or t3 plume out and your screwed. no revive, no catcher, no lost remover, no crushing hammer, no super rod, no duall ball. if one durant dies then its gone for good.
I SO agree.
It won’t be gone, but it will be not as good. People who tech against Durant will have a better shot, but not everyone will tech, and Durant will proabably find an Anti-Heatmor tech.
So it hurts Durant, but it won’t kill it.
I’m assuming that there’s a Durant in that set that counters Heatmor.
“It breathes through a hole in its tail while it burns with an internal fire. Durant is its prey.”
Probably not.
It will be interesting to see what happens. Either way, Mewtwo/Eelektrik/Zekrom and Mewtwo/Celebi can be seriously good.
What is the new translation for the Giga Power attack? I guess I haven’t seen the new translation. Is it no longer:
Giga Power: 60 damage. You may do an additional 20 damage. If you do, this Pokemon also does 20 damage to itself.
I think that is the new translation. The old one was pretty much the same thing, but you could use the effect as many times as you wanted (in other words, you could deal up to 160 damage to yourself and hit for 240 in one attack).
I’m glad it got changed, ’cause that right there is some scary stuff…
Oh, OK. Thanks. I think I remember reading that translation when EX’s was first being discussed, and thinking the same thing you did. Definately better that it got translated correctly.
I love this article, you voiced so many of the thing I was thinking myself. I am totally going to be trying out Reshiram-EX/Victini/Emboar, as well as a Mewtwo variant if I can get enough copies (unlikely, though). I was in ALL CAPS RAGE mode when Mewtwo got released, and I admit I was riding the hype train for a long time. Although it is still awesome and will shift the format, I am no longer certain it will break the format. Hooray for my rogue decks!
As a side note, I think the Truth actually gets stronger with this set. The deck itself can use the big EXs as the new tanks, and Gigas-EX is amazing for loading damage on to with Reuniclus. Enjoy the Truth while you can, because Raikou-EX (which in my opinion is the second best EX so far) is going to screw it over forever.
“Ross decks? Dead. A tanker that can’t tank is just meh, and I can’t see ANY variants who are able to tank out the repeated onslaught.”
Not when EXs are your attackers.
“DnD is already lagging behind in the race, so I doubt it can catch up when the new set is released, especially since Exoskeleton is made redundant when Zekrom EX, Reshiram EX and Mewtwo EX all are able to OHKO it. ”
Please explain how without pluspower Zekrom EX can ohko Donphan
but zekrom Ex needs high energy(since it discards 2 per turn) and reshiram has self damage chance(putting it in OHKO range) and Mewtwo is what every is countering for. maybe regigigas Ex and kyurem Ex can see play. but energy requirement is still high compared to normal truth varients.
i do agree with D&D though. beleive it makes a combeack as lightning is huge. and the dragons offer wide type coverage.
Great article, but I do have one thing to say. Special Metal Energies and Defender do not add HP, but they reduce damage from attacks.
In OHKO instances they are very similar, but in most cases they are really different. Pros like us know the difference, but beginners could get confused by this article.
LOL
not a bad article.
not bad. i like the thought in the article.
Looking forward to Mewtwo EX plus Gardevoir in the set after. Just 2 Psychic energies will account for 4 energies total, and remove the powers of Lost Remover.
I have actually started testing that deck (but not very much) and what I have found out is that it auto wins against any slow deck with basics 60HP or lower because they always make the misplay of attaching the energy. I tried putting in Musharna (failed) and have been using Cofagrigus NV to heal damage and attack, and Jirachi/Mismagius is too good to overlook in the deck. The only testing I have actually done is 5 games vs. GigaTrode (Gigalith NV and EP do millions of damage with Fighting energies) and won all 5 games.
gigatrode sounds pretty bad…
more like gigachoade
It’s pretty bad, but it’s meant as a fun deck and it’s all I could test against.
Great article.Good content. I gave it a like.
What I don´t like is that a lot of people are focussing too much on Mexto Ex when it is just a card in a set containing over a hundred cards.
By the way, the heavy ball and all that is nice and well done but not confimed yet.
Durant is tier 1 in my opinion and it has several autowins, the rest of the matchups are either favorable or 50/50.
ZPST with Zekrom Ex will be devastating.
OMG, I feel so loved… Maybe I’ll add a bit more.
@Pikkdogs: I can see where you’re coming from. It’s just how I do my calculations, habit of an ex-Jumpluff player.
@Opinion123: I don’t know what I was smoking, but yea Zekrom EX can’t OHKO Donphan. But like you mentioned, there’s pluspower, or a more long term solution would be Ruins of Alph. I keep forgetting about the Resistance, thanks for the heads up.
On Ross decks, the problem is that the only viable attacker is regigigas EX. Mewtwo succumbs to mirror, Reshiram has recoil damage, and Zekrom needs serious charging every turn, unless you don’t mind hitting a slow 50-80 every turn. And a constant 150+ damage every turn is quite hard to absorb, albeit maybe only marginally (Ross players, comment?) But with Mewtwo being the expected BDiF, you can’t tank when Mewtwo can charge up enough to OHKO your fresh attacker. It’s the same problem with current Ross decks against Magnezone variants.
@Everyone: I didn’t include Heatmor because I doubt it will be included. And because I’m a durant player, and damn proud of it XD
groudon EX or maybe kyurem EX
ExTruth will be a deck. It’s silly to think it won’t.
But there is definitely concern in the fact that opposing damage output will make it difficult to manage damage.
i have been thinking and thinking and thinking… and even more thinking about a mewtwo EX deck, but more specifically, how to counter it… and honestly i still think Eelzone will still be a strong play… here is why IMO (take it for what it is worth even though i am a big noob lol)
Mewtwo EX is more about hitting pokemon with plenty of energy attached to it. mew counters sound good, but 1 DCE will just knock it out. with the way the first turn rule is, although you may catch up seeing as mewtwo EX gives you 2 prizes, with mew having a low 60 HP, it still can be easy to OHKO him, unless of course he has eviolite. Donphan with 1 F energy can knock him out while they can set up a mewtwo on the bench…. now back to the topic of Eelzone… with an HP of 140, 1 DCE on mewtwo and 1 energy on zone will have mewtwo hitting it for 60… giving that the eelzone player has energy in the discard pile, they will be able to dynamotor the electric energy across the bench, which will be powering up Lost Burn. now when it is your turn to attack. hopefully you have an energy to attach. putting 1 energy attached to magnezone, as well as the ones spread on the bench, to be able to snag you 2 prizes. 4 lightning for 2 prizes seems like a fair trade. eelzone players of course may have to put more energy into their decks which could be a challenge. BUT, lets say your opponent is stacking energy to a Mewtwo on the bench. well hopefully you grab the much needed catcher, catcher the mewtwo out, kill him off, discarding those energys.
of course this is all based on my thinking, and i would really like to test it out, or see test results from more experienced players which will more than likely produce better results. But this is strictly my opinion on Eelzone still being a strong deck once the ND set is released. then again, my thoughts may change once we get the complete set list out.
I don’t think you are alone with this thought process. I think that several players have good feelings about eelezone’s chances. Build and test :)
decks IMO wont be centered around ONLY mewtwo but rather using him as a situational card. if your opponent bring’s up a 3-4 energy attacker then you can just drop a mewtwo. attach DCE and hit 100-120. not to mention he can abuse emboar BW or eelektrik near the end of some games.
Great article, informative, well-written and covers a lot of points.
There is certainly a lot of thought that will need to go into EX decks; if a player abuses weakness (6C) then it could be over very quick for the EX player. Otherwise it looks like that haven’t made the attacks too outrageous.
+1
Noob Question: I was under the impression that only the most recent 8 expansions are tournament legal (not sure where I got this). With Next Destinies, the original HGSS expansion will be the 9th oldest expansion. Will it be exiting the format?
No.
Rotation only happens once per year. Old sets don’t rotate out the moment a new one is released.
The Rotation always happens on 1 Sept. Ok we got an early rotation in June last year but that was highly exceptional circumstances.
Thanks! I’ve only been playing a few months!
EX kills ross? How so? Because I’ve been testing groudon/kyogre/mewtwo Ross it it works great.
Great article.
Eviolite and prism energy and rainbow energies pretty much make EX and basics splashable in any deck. 8 rainbow energies in a deck (technically) gives you many options on what you want in your deck, plus the 20+ HP from eviolite (minus 20 reduced damage) makes the damage from rainbow not worth worrying about.
The format is gonna change for the better.