Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Dark Explorers Lackluster?

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Good cards from dark rush:
Empoleon
Raikou EX
Sableye
Darkrai EX
Zoroark
Tornadus EX
Dark Patch
Darkness Claw

Those are all competitive. Doesn't seem like a bad set
 
Honestly, ALL I'm looking forward to is getting my RH Piplups... Here's why-
Raikou EX-This is one of my favorite cards, but it getting revenged by Terrakion negates the chaining for 100.

Empoleon-Sadly, since it gets 1 shotted by Zekrom and Reshiram EX, along with any decent grass type, it probably won't stand :)frown:)

Darkrai-
Let me explain this one in a couple easy steps-
1. Darkrai player KO's something
2. Opponent brings up Terrakion
3. Opponent Catchers Darkrai
4. Opponent PlusPowers if needed
5. Opponent draws 2 prizes for something you used to essentially replace switch.

Yeah.

Zoroark-Does 120. Big Whoop. So do Reshiram and Zekrom, and they are basics.

Tornadus EX-HOW is this a good card. Other than causing Terrakion slight issues (negated by Ruins of Alph), what can this thing do?

Dark Patch/Claw-These maybe could help those dark types. Maybe. Dark Patch can help accelerate Dark, but dark needs an attacker to accelerate, and I've shown why I dislike the dark attackers in the set. Same goes for the Claw.

That's my thoughts. Rare Candy reprint, and the potential N, Juniper, and Cheren reprints are all I like.
 
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Poke Trainer J said:
I don't want 1st turn Vileplume or Magnezone either, I forgot to mention they should return the 1st Turn Rules back to the way they were in DP-On along with un-nerfing Rare Candy. It wasn't that Rare Candy was broken it made Stage 2's much more playable and If it wasn't for the BW 1st Turn rules they probably would've seen much more play than they do now.
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Gotta disagree. Even in your situation, now you just want to go turn 2. That isn't an improvement. Think about it: you still get no turns if your opponent busts out Vileplume second overall turn of the game, because you just restored the old "No Items first turn!" rules! I played before Rare Candy existed and believe me, restoring the old wording is not the way.

Why can you not accept that maybe the dominating basic Pokemon are simply too powerful? That even with increasing HP scores, damage output has gotten to crazy levels. It used to take two or three hits from one Stage 2 to KO another. Now Basic Pokemon that aren't even Pokemon EX are OHKO machines. :nonono:
 
I'm sorry what Grass types are going to be one-shotting Empoleon? lol.

And Empoleon can easily be backed by Terrakion to handle those pesky Electrics.
 
Otaku said:
Gotta disagree. Even in your situation, now you just want to go turn 2. That isn't an improvement. Think about it: you still get no turns if your opponent busts out Vileplume second overall turn of the game, because you just restored the old "No Items first turn!" rules! I played before Rare Candy existed and believe me, restoring the old wording is not the way.

Why can you not accept that maybe the dominating basic Pokemon are simply too powerful? That even with increasing HP scores, damage output has gotten to crazy levels. It used to take two or three hits from one Stage 2 to KO another. Now Basic Pokemon that aren't even Pokemon EX are OHKO machines. :nonono:
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The dominating basic Pokemon are too powerful I agree with you wholeheartedly, that's why we need Stage 2's to be competitive again to restore the balance the game had back in Diamond/Pearl-On sure it may not have been perfectly balanced but before Platinum came along things in the game were going smoothly at least and the game was more enjoyable than it is now. You had a better shot at building a Rogue Deck back then but nowadays the idea of getting one off to be competitive is ruined by Pokemon Catcher.

They also need to start making new EX's based on Stage 1 and Stage 2 Pokemon however Japan is stuck in the "let's make every Legendary Pokemon an EX" gimmick where we are still stuck with Basics making Stage 2's more for League play than Competitive tournaments. If PCL and TPC in Japan cared more about the stability of the TCG rather than money and collectors alone we would've had a much more balanced format possibly. I think Mewtwo EX has become as much of a double-edged sword in the current format as Pokemon Catcher and the price tag makes deck building in the game not as cheap as it used to be.

Raen said:
I find it hilarious that some people actually think Raikou EX is a bad card.

Really?

REALLY?
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Well I don't really see it replacing Zekrom EX in Eel decks, maybe thrown in as a tech and it might replace Mewtwo EX in Eel variants but that's a stretch. On one hand you have the ability to cover for your own weakness while at the same time do massive amounts of damage off of what energies your Opponent's Active has, and the other is the ability to bench snipe for 100 damage while needing 2 Eels benched to Dynamotor twice almost every turn to consistently do damage with it. In the end you're probably still better off with Mewtwo EX.
 
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Poke Trainer J said:
The dominating basic Pokemon are too powerful I agree with you wholeheartedly, that's why we need Stage 2's to be competitive again to restore the balance the game had back in Diamond/Pearl-On sure it may not have been perfectly balanced but before Platinum came along things in the game were going smoothly at least and the game was more enjoyable than it is now. You had a better shot at building a Rogue Deck back then but nowadays the idea of getting one off to be competitive is ruined by Pokemon Catcher.

They also need to start making new EX's based on Stage 1 and Stage 2 Pokemon however Japan is stuck in the "let's make every Legendary Pokemon an EX" gimmick where we are still stuck with Basics making Stage 2's more for League play than Competitive tournaments. If PCL and TPC in Japan cared more about the stability of the TCG rather than money and collectors alone we would've had a much more balanced format possibly. I think Mewtwo EX has become as much of a double-edged sword in the current format as Pokemon Catcher and the price tag makes deck building in the game not as cheap as it used to be.



Well I don't really see it replacing Zekrom EX in Eel decks, maybe thrown in as a tech and it might replace Mewtwo EX in Eel variants but that's a stretch. On one hand you have the ability to cover for your own weakness while at the same time do massive amounts of damage off of what energies your Opponent's Active has, and the other is the ability to bench snipe for 100 damage for a 2 prize lead while needing 2 Eels benched to Dynamotor twice almost every turn to consistently do damage with it. In the end you're probably still better off with Mewtwo EX.
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I don't even really understand why you are comparing it to either Zekrom EX or Mewtwo EX, since Raikous has an ENTIRELY separate purpose. Zekrom and Mewtwo are beatsticks that have high damage output and can take care of major threats on the board; Raikou, on the otherhand, is a sniper that kills threats before they become a problem, or that removes bench sitters from play. That Eel you're using? Oh, it's dead. That Celebi hanging out of the bench? It's dead. That Empoleon you're trying to get out? Dead. Not only that, but it can soften up Pokemon like Mewtwo EX without the fear of being return KOd, as it discards most of it's energy.

It is, of course, a ONE OF TECH, but it's a fantastically powerful one. It's not like you focus a deck around it, but it's so powerful you'd be stupid not to put one in a deck that had electric energy acceleration.
 
Raen said:
I don't even really understand why you are comparing it to either Zekrom EX or Mewtwo EX, since Raikous has an ENTIRELY separate purpose. Zekrom and Mewtwo are beatsticks that have high damage output and can take care of major threats on the board; Raikou, on the otherhand, is a sniper that kills threats before they become a problem, or that removes bench sitters from play. That Eel you're using? Oh, it's dead. That Celebi hanging out of the bench? It's dead. That Empoleon you're trying to get out? Dead. Not only that, but it can soften up Pokemon like Mewtwo EX without the fear of being return KOd, as it discards most of it's energy.

It is, of course, a ONE OF TECH, but it's a fantastically powerful one. It's not like you focus a deck around it, but it's so powerful you'd be stupid not to put one in a deck that had electric energy acceleration.
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I completely agree with you on the first part 100%. But as far as it being a one of tech, I have to disagree. I've actually tested it out thoroughly and focusing a deck around it is really good. Having 2 in play, with Skyarrow giving it free retreat, Eels to get the discarded energy immediately on it again, and Max Potion to completely heal it for free is really hard to get around. The constant switching between two different Raikous is a great way of having a fresh attacker each turn while the other is being healed and getting ready for attacking the following turn. Mewtwo can't do anything to them, and as far as Terrakion goes, having Evolite on it lets it live 10HP, allowing it to be healed with Max Potion, or picked up via Super Scoop Up or Seeker, to get rid of the damage. Throughout testing, the only truly difficult match up was the Mirror, for obvious reasons.
 
yankeezone13 said:
I completely agree with you on the first part 100%. But as far as it being a one of tech, I have to disagree. I've actually tested it out thoroughly and focusing a deck around it is really good. Having 2 in play, with Skyarrow giving it free retreat, Eels to get the discarded energy immediately on it again, and Max Potion to completely heal it for free is really hard to get around. The constant switching between two different Raikous is a great way of having a fresh attacker each turn while the other is being healed and getting ready for attacking the following turn. Mewtwo can't do anything to them, and as far as Terrakion goes, having Evolite on it lets it live 10HP, allowing it to be healed with Max Potion, or picked up via Super Scoop Up or Seeker, to get rid of the damage. Throughout testing, the only truly difficult match up was the Mirror, for obvious reasons.
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Quad Terrakion would destroy that deck. You mention Eviolite, but completely gloss over the fact that anyone running Terrakion is usually running PlusPower as well.

I also just feel like 100 damage per turn is just not that high right now. Yes, it's fantastic for a snipe, but what happens when all they have are high HP basics and nothing left to snipe? Not to mention you are very, very susceptible to your Eels getting Catcher KOd.

I'm sticking to my labeling of Raikou EX as a one-of tech for now.
 
Raen said:
Quad Terrakion would destroy that deck. You mention Eviolite, but completely gloss over the fact that anyone running Terrakion is usually running PlusPower as well.

I also just feel like 100 damage per turn is just not that high right now. Yes, it's fantastic for a snipe, but what happens when all they have are high HP basics and nothing left to snipe? Not to mention you are very, very susceptible to your Eels getting Catcher KOd.

I'm sticking to my labeling of Raikou EX as a one-of tech for now.
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Now the last time I tested the deck was before States so I've yet to see how it will fair against quad Terrakion and I'm not going to until after States/Regionals. However, in any other deck, Terrakion is usually a one of tech. Now normally, 100 damage wouldn't be all that much, but when you look at the top decks, all of them either run on energy acceleration Pokemon that can be sniped easily, or are Durant. Even looking at the Zoroark deck that might emerge from Dark Explorers, it has only 100HP. When they have only high HP basics, they've lost their ability to have multiple energy attached to them in one turn. An thinking about it, the big HP basics that are used now are, Zekrom, Mewtwo, the Genies, and Terrakion. The Genies lack the damage output to do anything to Raikou, after one Bolt Strike, Zekrom is in range for a OHKO, Mewtwo can't do a thing to Raikou unless it has too much energy, and Terrakion is usually a one of. Also Eels getting catchered in then is the same as them getting catchered in now, or 3 months ago, unless they KO them, a Switch, or a Junk Arm to get Switch, or a DCE to retreat is happening the following turn.
 
Poke Trainer J: You seem to ignore cause and effect relationships, or suppose them based only on chronology. Formats are complicated things and just jacking up power levels is no more likely to create a fun, diverse, balanced format as banning everything and starting over with severely nerfed cards.

Specific problems need to be addressed, and just because something didn't ruin the game in the past doesn't meant it made the game better, either. Sometimes there were other mitigating factors to keep it in line... like the old Pokemon ex, and Pokemon Reversal until recently. Sometimes that was just the only major flaw in the game, and people got used to it because the rest was going so well; see Rare Candy before the errata.

You've seen all those TCGs that are basically dumped on the market... and they still make money. Digimon just reboots itself every few years and still makes money, though sometimes they've tried to make it "go legit" and have actual organized play, but in the end "random little kid" purchases are where even games like Magic: The Gathering make their profits.
 
Miamisportsfan45 said:
I'm calling it now. T1 evolutions.

It seems to be looking like we're moving in that direction again.
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I'd hope not. That would offer nothing but more complaining. Imagine a T1 Emboar with a fully powered Reshiram EX breathing down your neck. I'm more of the mind that the Rare Candy nerf may have been for the better, and is an overall attempt at slowing the game down. In the last 4 sets we haven't been seeing acceleration (energy or Pokemon) in the same way we did before BW. After the SP years where you could virtually set-up T1, slowing the game down is a decent idea IMO, and we're just in the middle of the transition.
 
Turns out this set isn't lackluster afterall, Darkrai EX and Tornadus EX are definitely worth buying a box for this set. I didn't realize just how good Darkrai EX was that it gives free retreat to ANY Pokemon with a Dark energy attached. That is AMAZING!!!

Tornadus EX will help Eels survive in the format cause Quad Terrakion (a.k.a. Terrakion/Landorus) is going to be a Tier 1 deck because it's the Anti-Metagame deck of the format. That with the other good cards in this set, yeah turns out I overestimated this set ALOT. :biggrin:
 
Poke Trainer J said:
Turns out this set isn't lackluster afterall, Darkrai EX and Tornadus EX are definitely worth buying a box for this set. I didn't realize just how good Darkrai EX was that it gives free retreat to ANY Pokemon with a Dark energy attached. That is AMAZING!!!

Tornadus EX will help Eels survive in the format cause Quad Terrakion (a.k.a. Terrakion/Landorus) is going to be a Tier 1 deck because it's the Anti-Metagame deck of the format. That with the other good cards in this set, yeah turns out I overestimated this set ALOT. :biggrin:
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more like underestimated xD
 
Poke Trainer J said:
I didn't realize just how good Darkrai EX was that it gives free retreat to ANY Pokemon with a Dark energy attached. That is AMAZING!!!
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I'll be honest, I missed that one as well until a few days ago, and didn't even bother confirming it with the English scan until yesterday. :lol:

Besides what you mentioned, there really is promise in many of the cards. That doesn't guarantee they'll be good, but it is much better than sets where we suspect it is all or mostly filler.
 
Still not seeing why people keep saying a bench sitter that gives up 2 prizes thats weak to an entire deck is good.

Maybe i'm missing something? Idk someone enlighten me.
 
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