Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Our good friend Professor Juniper

Ignatious, I have to ask, what all Supporters are you testing? I have encountered what you described, but I find it less and less common in my decks as I figure out the proper ratios... plus I am using Cheren, Cilan, N, and Professor Juniper. No Bianca. If anything, I am leaning more towards giving Hooligans a shot in decks where late game (early game I almost always can use any of the above) I have Supporters to burn.
 
Otaku said:
Ignatious, I have to ask, what all Supporters are you testing? I have encountered what you described, but I find it less and less common in my decks as I figure out the proper ratios... plus I am using Cheren, Cilan, N, and Professor Juniper. No Bianca. If anything, I am leaning more towards giving Hooligans a shot in decks where late game (early game I almost always can use any of the above) I have Supporters to burn.
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About where I am right now. Bianca just isn't cutting it. At this point, if Bill was still in format I might give it a go....(But clearly 4 Cheren first :tongue:)
 
Skyla is good, and I'm glad other players are recognizing how good the card is. It's not as powerful as some of the other search trainers in the game's past, but it is the best search supporter we have in Blw-on (kind of...Cilan is obviously better if you want energy off your search). Think about playing Vileplume right now, and how much you would kill to be able to somehow search Rare Candy out of your deck to get the t2 plume.

In general, I agree that Bianca is the worst supporter for cookie cutter builds of lists and playstyles, but I think as players get more used to the new format, they will find that Bianca will really shine. We're going to be playing in a format with more evolutions, all ball search, and probably more pokemon communication, which should lead to more cards being played down out of your hand on any given turn, which should give some good opportunities for you to use bianca.
 
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Charranitar said:
Skyla is good, and I'm glad other players are recognizing how good the card is. It's not as powerful as some of the other search trainers in the game's past, but it is the best search supporter we have in Blw-on (kind of...Cilan is obviously better if you want energy off your search). Think about playing Vileplume right now, and how much you would kill to be able to somehow search Rare Candy out of your deck to get the t2 plume.

In general, I agree that Bianca is the worst supporter for cookie cutter builds of lists and playstyles, but I think as players get more used to the new format, they will find that Bianca will really shine. We're going to be playing in a format with more evolutions, all ball search, and probably more pokemon collcetor, which should lead to more cards being played down out of your hand on any given turn, which should give some good opportunities for you to use bianca.
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Pokemon Collector and Vileplume wont be in BW-On.
 
Totally meant Pokemon Communication, not collector. Weird what the brain does when typing words that starts with the same combination of letters. And Vileplume was just an example that most players can relate to to show the utility that Skyla can serve.
 
Well you should do something that will be in the next format like empoleon or garchomp or hydreigon and not vileplume.
 
Plus in the current format, you can use Level Ball and Electrode Prime. First turn do a normal set-up doing whatever you want. Next turn, Level Ball for Electrode Prime, Evolve into it, blow it up. Now, besides getting stuff Energized, you're a Prize down and Twins = Rare Candy + Vileplume.

I didn't say it was good, just that if my choice is between the two, I still might go that way.

I'm not kidding; my testing is doing really well with Cheren, Cilan, N, and Professor Juniper. I am talking so far all my decks run all four. For various reasons, all my decks are running at least two Super Rod as well, and it isn't just drawing into it. Between Ultra Balls and Professor Junipers, there's just enough discarding that I want to be able to recycle stuff... and I've just found it works better to run a few less basic Energy and run Cilan to fish them out then Super Rod to throw them back in if the build up gets discarded too soon. In the meanwhile, since my deck is three basic Energy thinner, my draws improve. So I am often doing two Cilan and two Super Rod.

Of course, this is all pre-Ether, and that will change things unless it turns out to be overhyped. Odds are you'll want your decks at least a little heavier on Basic Energy cards, and if that is the case the above combo is a no-no.
 
I've only seen it on Bulbapedia. Here is what the translation for it is:

Bulbapedia said:
Ether
Item

Reveal the top card of your deck. If it is a basic Energy card, attach it to one of your Pokémon. If it is not a basic Energy card, return it to the top of your deck.

You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn (before your attack).
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It is from the Coldflare subset/deck/whatever it is, 55/59. Note that the literal translation of the name is PP Aid, but the Japanese video game Item known as PP Aid is known here as Ether, hence the assumed name change.
 
We know at least one winning deck used Musharna, but it was built around a particular combo: Mew EX/Gothitelle/Accelgor.

If it looks bad, let me see how you run your decks. If your deck can't function with a good chunk of Basic Energy, it's not so good.

Otherwise, think carefully. This is an Item. Best case scenario you get Energy acceleration that costs just an Item from hand and get's a basic Energy out of your way from the top of your deck! Worst case scenario... you know your top deck! Think of playing this before you decide between something like N or Professor Juniper/Cheren/Bianca. I am thinking that for many decks, it may end up being the 61st-64th card... you know, just missing the cut.

However, there are going to be those decks that can manipulate the deck or simply run heavy on basic Energy, giving better odds. Possibly even late game if you plan ahead. I am finding more of my games coming close to decking out. So a card that is alright early game and killer late game is nice. Of course, I am also running two Super Rod in my deck (which tend to show up late game themselves, for better or worse). So the Theorymon (that was your warning) is that you can pull of one big last move with a deck that is like half (or better) basic Energy, and again the consolation Prize is you know exactly what you're getting next turn.

Obviously donk decks would like this as well. While not usually heavy on Basic Energy, this could be enough to garner an exception. I mean, think of what this could do for a "Darkrai donk" deck.
 
I've been testing the Dragon deck, Otaku. I usually have evolutions/energy/items that aren't too particularly useful at the moment in my hand in the beggining of the game. So Bianca/Juniper are usually out of the question, considering on my next turn I can drop another energy and begin evolving. Maybe an item has a new found use based on my opponents board (catcher). So in that situation I wait a turn, then play my supporter. On that wait turn, Skyla could grab me a RC for next turn, or a Level Ball for an additional basic.

It could be trash though too, to be honest. I can just see where it could be useful.
 
^ That also plays into the saying that you don't need to play a supporter every turn. Skyla is a card I would run for sure.
 
King Piplup said:
About where I am right now. Bianca just isn't cutting it. At this point, if Bill was still in format I might give it a go....(But clearly 4 Cheren first :tongue:)
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yeah i have found that problem i feel like i cant play out my hand like i use too, so i feel like cheren is the right way but we will see.
 
With the rest of Skyla's set-mates, her usage becomes much more clear. Many decks can afford to run the new Computer Search (disregarding however much it will actually cost >.>), and Skyla=>Computer Search is a pretty solid move as long as you have some discard fodder.

Bicycle is a draw card that is an Item, so a deck running Skyla and might end up finding Bicycle more reliable; grab the exact Trainer you need, play down your hand, then Bicycle. The third thing that has really turned my opinion around on Skyla is trolling people with Sableye. What I thought was a "bad" open when testing a deck was amazing; I just kept slamming my opponent with combination of Hammers and Catcher, and they had a hard time landing any solid hits.
 
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