Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

LegendCallerL's Fix-A-Card Contest

StormFront said:
I'd prefer a contest to make broken cards more balanced than trying to up the power of cards that should be playable.
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The problem is that is pretty subjective as well. Most cards aren't inherently broken, but broken for their format. Easy Energy acceleration, presence of Catcher, Junk Arm, etc. all exaggerate problems from "big Basic Pokemon". If there was no Energy acceleration, Zekrom donk doesn't happen; it can't do anything first turn, and second turn can only hit hard if it was hit hard before.

No Eviolite makes all Basic Pokemon less durable, and no Pokemon Catcher means set-up decks aren't completely neutered by a low Energy/high damage format. Though Pokemon Catcher would need to be replaced by something - the Bench can't be completely safe or then we have the opposite problem, and we've had times when it was true so this is experience and not Theorymon speaking.

Something I've learned is that if you have a task in a deck, and it is to be done by a fully Evolved Pokemon (whether that is a Basic Pokemon that doesn't Evolve, a Stage 1 that doesn't Evolve further, or a Stage 2), those Pokemon should all be on more or less even footing in terms of stats and things that won't ruin game balance. Then you avoid generic Evolution and Energy acceleration, and design attacks according to when a Pokemon is entering play.

The aggressive Big Basic Pokemon still needs other Pokemon to support it; at best it should have an "adequate" filler attack to open with, so that it needs another Pokemon to support it, even if it is just another Basic Pokemon with a good set-up attack but not as good of a "big" attack. As for Pokemon that will be Evolving, they need to be designed from the 'top down'. Look at the Stage 2 and subtract a reasonable amount from its HP, instead of thinking "Basic Pokemon should have X HP". Have the Pokemon who can further Evolve set up for the final Stage of Evolution.

In both cases, make the format one where nothing has a damaging attack available on a players first turn; you can't donk if you can't attack, and after first turn PlusPower (and similar cards) become strategic tools and not big clubs. This means set-up attacks can't be overwhelmed by raw offense. Constructive set-up (building up your field) versus disruptive set-up (sabotaging your opponent) becomes the early game.

When you do these things, a mono-basic deck just ends up with extra space... but to have the same strong set-up it just invests that space into generic set-up cards. If it chooses to be disruptive, it has room for that, but again the deck built around an Evolution (or Evolutions) has so much synergy within a single Evolution line that it all ends up on even footing in the end. Just remember that effects that are broken by coming into play too early (the vast majority of Abilities as well as low Energy, damaging attacks) need to be restricted to Pokemon that can't get into play early.

So I bring this up because of how you tried to "fix" those two Unova Dragons, StormFront. Had that Zekrom released, it would have been weaker and by now probably replaced by something else, but ZPS would sill have worked (90 first turn is still good for donking, and the main reason you needed 120 was to hit other Zekrom/Reshiram), and once we got Thundurus and Tornadus, ZPS would become SPTT, using the two weather genies for the offensive.
 
The deadline has been set at August 6 and as reminders,

1. Edits are allowed
2. BLW formatting for cards: Up to 2 attacks/an attack and an ability
3. PM entries to any judge.
 
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