Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Pokémon TCG's Power Nine?

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Nick15

Nick15

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Before I get into a long schpeal about this, has the TCG Community at large ever determined what cards in the game counted as the "Power Nine", that is, nine cards of such unprecedented power that they will never be reprinted again?

If not... Then I propose we formulate the legend of the Pokémon TCG's Power Nine... maybe even help drive up the values of said cards too as everyone clamors to create their own Power Nine collections.

Now while the obvious cards include:
* Professor Oak
* Computer Search
* Item Finder
* Energy Removal
* Super Energy Removal
* Professor Elm
* maybe Lass...

That doesn't add up to nine cards. Now I've been out of the loop for quite some time, so a lot has been added to the game and other things have changed, which makes my expertise about what should be Pokémon's Power Nine is a little rusty. For example, I would have once added cards like Base Hitmonchan and Genesis Sneasel, but I have since learned that they have been reprinted in recent sets and are practically worthless (gameplay-wise, at least). And then I also noticed that Bill was reprinted as a Supporter...

However, I'm sure other cards which were once powerful are still powerful, like maybe Base Blastoise (whose power was worthy to be reprinted on BW Emboar [Holo]) and Genesis Slowking (assuming that Trainer cards are still used with such verocity in today's decks). And I'm sure those above Trainers are still very useful today than they always been.

So... Whaddya think?
 
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I bet if you asked this question a while ago people would have said Double Colourless and Gust of Wind ;)

Item Finder is very similar to Junk Arm.

I guess Scoop Up would be a contender?
 
Claydol, Uxie, BTS, Gyarados SF, ERL (I saw it : 6 KO and 7 prizes taken in one attack), Dark Vileplume, Garchomp C X, Gengar SF, Super Energy Removal.

I bet you'll never see something like these cards were.
 
Slowking NG
Super Energy Removal

Those are the only two cards that I'm confident we won't ever see again. Cards like Professor Oak and Professor Elm of course won't be seen in Trainer (...Item) form, but as Supporters, they are around right now (Elm nets one card more than Oak's New Theory, but otherwise they are the same; Juniper is Oak exactly).

Cards with unique classifications such as Delta, SP, owner's Pokemon, etc. won't be reprinted directly, but we may end up seeing new incarnations of them down the line (e.g. a new basic colorless Pokemon with Dragon Rush). A lot has already been recycled over the years and I don't see that changing; right now there are a ton of reincarnations of old cards in both the MD-on and the HGSS-on card pools, with more on the way (Pokemon Catcher=Gust of Wind, Gothitelle=Vileplume ex).
 
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Nick15 said:
Now while the obvious cards include:
* Professor Oak
* Computer Search
* Item Finder
* Energy Removal
* Super Energy Removal
* Professor Elm
* maybe Lass...
Click to expand...

I understand that you were "out" for a bit, but Professor Oak was actually reprinted as Professor Juniper. Only difference is the obvious name change (so we can't use regular Professor Oak anymore) and Juniper now has the Supporter rule.

Item Finder was reprinted as Junk Arm, but again, different name = can't use Item Finder.
Professor Elm was reprinted as Professor Oak's New Theory, I guess. Even though it is one card, it can make a difference.
Energy Removal is getting reprinted by Crush Hammer, but with along with a different name, you have to flip.

Basically, about four of these cards were reprinted despite a few tone-downs. Even so, these cards see lots of play.

Uxie and Claydol are big ones, along with Double Rainbow Energy. These three were too good.
 
Well, there are plenty of cards from recent times that could fit in the Power Nine category, but I'm thinking of sticking with more classic cards. That is to say, Magic's Power Nine were all cards from the early days... Sure stuff like Memory Jar and Jace The Mind Sculptor could fit nicely in the Power Nine category, they're just too new (and there's no way Memory Jar nor Jace could be better than any of the Moxes or Black Lotus).

Double Colorless Energy was reprinted recently, so I don't think it could gain Power Nine status. That is to say, if TPC decides to reprint any card verbatim (versus reprint-with-errata like Bill) then it probably wasn't powerful enough to begin with. I mean, you can bet Professor Oak won't get reprinted.

Junk Arm? Hmmm... It's a kind of lesser Item Finder, but not Item Finder exactly. But then, hmmm... Cuz like, on one hand, I believe Power Nine status shouldn't/won't be affected by "neutered reprints" like Junk Arm, akin to how certain of Magic's Power Nines were given "neutered reprints" (such as Ancestral Recall, which has been reprinted in various forms, but with some kind of added restriction, such as higher casting cost). But on the other hand, some reprints are almost exactly like their original counterparts; Junk Arm is basically the same thing as Item Finder, except that you can't use it to recover another Junk Arm... but with Item Finder you really didn't want to do that to begin with, unless there's some technique I'm not aware of (or forgot)? Thus, perhaps Item Finder DOESN'T deserve a Power Nine status, because it was given a (functional) reprint via Junk Arm.

Scoop Up MAY be a contender, but it really wasn't a MAJOR game changer like Professor Oak and Computer Search was. But then again, it wasn't ever reprinted, only given a "neutered reprint" via Super Scoop-Up, and considering that it still has plenty of uses today?

I guess another criteria for Pokémon TCG's Power Nine are cards which were broken back then and are STILL broken today, despite all the numerous changes, additions, erratas and whatnots that has happened since those cards were originally released. Some of the new cards which may have been powerful back in Modified (like Luxray GL?) may not be so powerful later on, OR in Unlimited play--when stuff like Vileplume-ex or Chaos Gym exist (forgive me if those cards have been rendered useless since the last time I checked).
 
Okay here's my best guess
Pidgeot FRLG
Slowking(errata'd one)
Oak
Bill
Lass
Gust of Wind
Item Finder
Computer Search
Super Energy Removal
 
Gliscor said:
I understand that you were "out" for a bit, but Professor Oak was actually reprinted as Professor Juniper. Only difference is the obvious name change (so we can't use regular Professor Oak anymore) and Juniper now has the Supporter rule.
Click to expand...

The thing is, while Oak got a reprint as Juniper, Oak wasn't errata'd like Bill was. Thus, Oak is STILL Oak.

Keeping in mind Magic's Power Nine, many of them were given "neutered reprints"; Time Walk and Timetwister were both given numerous reprints in some kind of "dumbed down" version, such as Time Warp (Tempest) and Time Spiral (Urza's Saga), which, despite being powerful in their own right, are far from Power Nine status.

So I figure that a card that deserves to be one of Pokémon TCG's Power Nine, it must not have been reprinted in its original/current form, and not counting neutered reprints, unless that neutered reprint is functionally the same card as the original (like Junk Arm is to Item Finder). This also means that if a card was given a FUNCTIONAL reprint--that is, a card which does exactly the same thing in every way, but is given a different name (such as Gust of Wind and Pokémon Catcher), then it doesn't deserve Power Nine status.

Oh, and it doesn't count if a card was reprinted in, say, Base Set 2 or Legendary Collection. Cuz like, TECHNICALLY Oak was reprinted in BS2, but that's no different than how Magic's Power Nine were reprinted in Beta and Unlimited. It's something else if the card was reprinted years later in a non-"Reprint Set" set.
 
Zarmakuizz said:
Claydol, Uxie, BTS, Gyarados SF, ERL (I saw it : 6 KO and 7 prizes taken in one attack), Dark Vileplume, Garchomp C X, Gengar SF, Super Energy Removal.

I bet you'll never see something like these cards were.
Click to expand...
Spot the guy who hasn't played in too many formats...

I don't think that Pokemon should really have a Power 9 type list. Cards become bad and good as different formats develop. The difference is that Black Lotus and Jace: TMS will always be good. Look at Sneasel, a card that was once banned. The card is a common that is used to evolve into Weavile. Cards just lose luster pre/post format.

IF I had to make a list, it would look like
-Bill (trainer)
-Pigeot FRLG
-Lass
-Professor Oak (trainer)
-Super Energy Remover
-Computer Search
-Slowking Neo
-DRE/Scramble (still very good cards)
-Claydol/itemfinder/GoW/ScoopUp

That being said, none of these cards feel entirely unfair (save for Slowking pre-errata... and lass is pretty annoying as well). This game didn't develop like Magic did. Full unlimited is still very fair. Magic has to ban/limit cards in vintage/legacy just to be able to make it completely fair. While we don't have an unlimited tournament format (plz add), it is still pretty fair even using the listed cards.
 
If you're going off cards from the first year or two of the game, then there are some that I would have sworn that they would never print again:

Gust of Wind: They've printed lots of balanced version of this card: Double Gust, Warp Point, Pokemon Reversal. They seemed to have definitely realized that Gust of Wind was too strong and would never be reprinted. Now, in the next set or so, we'll should see... Pokemon Catcher. Identical effect to Gust of Wind.

Item Finder: This was the one that allowed you to use Trainers more times than was balanced, by tossing two other cards to get that broken Trainer back. 10 years and nothing even close to it was printed. Hello... Junk Arm.

Professor Oak: Dump your hand and draw a fresh hand of seven cards without the dilution of redrawing any of the same cards again. 10 years and the closest effect always had you shuffle your hand back in and draw fewer than seven cards.
Hello... Prof Juniper. Yes, it has the limit of being a Supporter, but that's not a major drawback.

Double Colorless Energy: Break the "one energy per turn" limit with no drawback other than that it's colorless energy? Years of cards with drawbacks such as "can only attach to evolved Pokemon" or "only get the effect when you are behind on prizes" or "do 10 less damage". And now... reprinted.

Computer Search: Dump some cards to get any card. The closest thing to this has major drawbacks or flippiness. Still not reprinted.

I think most of these cards fit into your "Power Nine" concept, but they have actually reprinted/recreated most of them recently.
I don't know how it will impact the game.
 
Cyrus Conspiracy - Most Broken Supporter ever
Imposter Oak's Revenge - Like Judge Today except you only discard a card to put the effect on the opponent
The Rocket's Trap - Flip a coin if heads pick 3 random cards from your opponents hand and shuffle into their deck.
I think this would be OK as a supporter
Bill - Too speedy
Energy Removal - Hopefully this card will never be released in its orginal form
Super Energy Removal - Same goes for this card
Professor Oak - Obviously this has been released a supporter but never again as a trainer
Pokemon Center - Garchomp C LvX anyone? This card IMO would be OK as a supporter.
Sloking NG - I think this card may be released as an errata. So Sloking must be active.
 
Lass
Slowking NG
Energy Removal
Super Energy Removal
Comp Search
Uxie
GOW (I am fully aware that it was basically reprinted as pokemon catcher, I don't quite agree with that decision. This card is broken)
Prof Oak (trainer version, Juniper doesn't count as it is a supporter)
DRE

DRE is on the fence for me
 
I'll do a power 9 for HGSS-on(projected) based on types and then have a power of nine trainer/supporter/stadium, in ratio b/c i can't even think of 3 stadiums :p
Power of Nine T/S/S
Trainer-Junk Arm/Pokemon Catcher/Pokemon Communication/Super Scoop Up
Supporter-Juniper/Pokemon Collector/Seeker/Judge
Stadium-Lost World

Power of Nine Pokemon
Water-Feraligatr Prime
Fire-Emboar
Grass-Yanmega Prime/Jumpluff
Lightning-Zekrom/Magnezone Prime
Dark-Tyranitar Prime
Metal-Steelix Prime/Scizor Prime
Fighting-Donphan Prime/Machamp Prime
Psychic-Reuniclus/Gengar Prime
Colorless-Cinccino
 
I actually think Uxie is actually a better analogy to Professor Oak than Professor Juniper.

I'd also like to nominate Fossil Ditto. It was never that great of card, but it did practically break the game.
 
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