Recently I was making a list of possible changes that might help balance the format. However, the one thing that stood out to me was how poorly concieved the Level X mechanic was. Though it initially seemed like a fair balance, the mechanic has instead led a few decks to heavy use, much to the detriment of decks without a level X form.
I actually had come up with this idea:
So what do people think? Do Level X cards need to be rewritten to strip them of their excessive options? I really would like to hear some opinions on this.
Me in a parallel universe much like our own said:We're 5 sets into DP. By this time in the EX era, we had two Safeguarders, 1 energy card that couldn't be attached to EXes, Two stadiums that had EX clauses, three TMs that couldn't be attached to EXes, 1 Supporter that couldn't be used on an EX, and about 10 other Pokémon with other attributes specifically designed to hinder EXes. Now, all we have is one Pokémon with a Safeguard-esque ability for Level X's. As mentioned above, anything with a Level X form has vastly more options with little downside. Hopefully future sets will do a better job of clamping down on level X’s (Omastar is a step in the right direction).
I actually had come up with this idea:
Level X-Override Vs. Extend:
The idea: Level X's would not extend the Pokémon-rather they would be overridden by the Level-X card.
The Reasoning: It's terribly unfair for a Pokémon to have 4 or 5 options available to it while most other Pokémon only have 2. Instead of giving players such a vast arsenal, players should have to use strategy to consider when the appropriate time to Level Up their Pokémon is.
So what do people think? Do Level X cards need to be rewritten to strip them of their excessive options? I really would like to hear some opinions on this.