Aisor, I'll say it again, why do Stage 2s need to be prominent in a format? Having decks be mainly Stage 2s does not mean they become more sophisticated or complex.
I said Stage 2 for various reasons I'll explain later. Like I said, Stage 2 on its own doesn't mean anything. Blastoise is the easiest to use and most boring card in the format, yet obscenely powerful. Garchomp is boring since the Dragon Call choices are always obvious and that deck's strategies don't branch based on what you play against. With the cards we currently have, of course the current meta is the best, it uses the cards to their full potential which is what it is supposed to do.
We just need way more cards of different kids that are useful. And some of those cards need to be Stage 2.
The true potential of Stage 2 or even Stage 1 in diversifying the game is that, if they are done right, they split the game into phases: early-game, mid-game and late-game. There's no late-game anymore, barely even mid-game, beyond preparing for N and attaching tons of energy. But in a healthy game, cards that take time to get on the field make impact proportional to the time, planning, resources and even luck they require to get into play. Getting multiple such cards would create effective synergies between them, aka late game strategies. For late-game oriented decks, mid- and early-game are preparation to get there, and the forms of decision-making would reflect that. The very nature of requiring multiple cards together to execute your game plan is more sophisticated than the current game, and only Rayeels does that with any level of depth (it's still very fast and spammy, but it involves multiple types of control and risk), and Plasma Klinklang to an extent. And since there exist multiple phases in the game, the current meta-decks would thrive, and even take games, just by early-game dominance and mid-game pressure. But they need to stop somewhere.
New decision-making elements that comes from this is, simply, buying time and preparing allocating your resources in a way that keeps them safe yet effective. But that simple concept encompasses a lot of uses for different cards and different plays. You'd have to think ahead much more than you currently have any reason to, or need to, because it will be too late to do anything 'later'.
So being Stage 2 isn't the point, it's the balance between different styles of play. The same idea can be realized in other ways. But evolved attackers are by far the most obvious and natural way for PTCG to do it.
Strong pressure early game needs to balance out later and high risk early game need to do that as well. Decks that attack hard since T1 can't be stronger all-game than decks that take considerable risks or user slower plays to get an upper hand. Rayeels is the only deck at the moment where that concept works in practice, and in Plasma KK to an extent as well. Both of those use EX attackers, so their existence itself is not the fundamental problem.
There are plenty of strategic moves that are made with basic based decks. Look at yesterday's finals in Madison. Adam's Junk Hunt choices were the deciding factor in the match. His entire strategy depended on what cards he chose with Junk Hunt.
I didn't watch that game and I won't deny the skill of the player, but Junk Hunt is an attack that allows resource use beyond the normal limits. While using Sableye gives up damaging attacks in order to reuse items, which is obviously a big deal, it's only one part of the game. If the entire decision-making aspect culminates to just reusing resources (which you are supposed to use carefully in the first place), then it's not very convincing. I admit it's a trade-off, but how is it sophisticated to just select the alternative that deals more damage/attaches more energy?
There are choices made like this every game. Where do I put the additional damage? Do I laser now or wait a turn? Which supporter give me a better advantage now and later?
Those are only problems as complex as 1+1=? In a balanced format, you make trade-offs in both your deckbuilding and in the way you play it in various situations in various match-ups. It's decision-making about which advantage you want to pursue, how and when, and which win condition you try to go for, how, and when.
The answer to all of those in this format is attach as many energy as you can, deal damage and drop the obvious trainer choices whenever needed.
I never said there's no decision making, I was talking about lost dimensions of decision-making in deckbuilding and tactical maneuvers. The choices are always obvious, it's all a matter of elementary addition of damage rather than predicting your opponent's moves. But then again, it's obviously not the fault of any player. There isn't such diversity in the card pool.
Are there some games that have one player completely outspeed and catcher ko everything their opponent drops? Of course. But there are games like that in every format.
There don't need to be such games in the every format from now on just for the sake of tradition. And in a healthy format, that would be a justified situation for a deck that is geared towards early-game dominance at the expense of being weak later.
I think the problem is that the game is not the same as it's always been and people don't like change. It's obvious that Pokemon wants a fast, active game as opposed to the slow, methodical game of past formats. This is ok.
I would be ok with a faster format if they made more cards that can match that speed and give them various support and tricks to set up in time. Most alternatives can barely enter the bench, and they are easily overpowered by something faster and more reliable than them. That's just bad design and neglect of diversity, and if it's a choice, it's a bad one.
EDIT: I think the best way to put it is that many EX cards reach the level of power that should be associated with late-game in two turns, and with lucky draws, possibly on the very first turn. On top of that, considering how EX are actually stronger than others even if they reach the late-game phase, there isn't any competition. Also, if the game is all about lategame-oriented plays, it's no wonder the gameplay is so stale.
