Could also be a tool that increases max hp. I really hope there is one that does one or the other since it would also buff mons like venusaur and specially Melmetal, whose main weakness is that a lot of mons just KO it in one hit.
@@pjanderson4876it’s probably 3 if it’s not bench look at other snipers zebstrika stage 1 30 damage for 1, electabuzz basic 40 damage for 2, seadra stage 1 50 damage for 3 And for your argument of misty acceleration we also have lumineon stage 1 50 to bench only for 2 50 for 2 energy with 100 hp would be really strong not saying it’s definitely not happening but if we are comparing similar cards it seems unlikely It’s likely that if it can target any it will be 3 energy since that lines up with most other sniper especially with 100 hp as well
@@jamesbryce8577 I think it will be 3, but Lumineon also does have 0 retreat cost, I think Honchkrow had 2? That’s also gonna be a balancing factor here. I’m just saying I’m not gonna be surprised if it’s 2, not that I think it should be two
HP usually balances Retreat cost, Energy cost and type usually balances attack damage and effect. If Honchkrow is 3 energy it’s practically worthless, if it’s 2 energy it’s pretty good but not OP in my opinion
@crimson_reigns8987 I agree, 2 metal energy requirement take it out of decks with other types. Dialga does offer energy ramp to colorless, though (Colorless can just play Metal energy), so ramping things like Mew ex or Wigglytuff could be big.
It can only be used in a metal deck with colorless support, though. So Mew, Taurus, Pidgeot, etc. will be good with it, but if they run a different color deck Dialga will be pointless.
First thing that comes to mind with palkia is a starmie vaporeon build, as palkia is not only a great lead while you're evolving your basics on your bench and building energy, but also a fantastic finisher to end the game. Now, how good that concept is depends on what other cards we are getting on the set, but i'm excited to try the idea as soon as i (hopefully) pull my palkias!
Honestly palklia is super versatile for EX decks, you could see it with starmie for an aggro deck with big finisher potential, articuno for a midgame playstyle or as a wall with a heaver mon like gyarados or blastoise - with vaporeon in many of these. However I'd more expect to see a non EX paring like greninja or lumenion to snipe the bench with palkia being the big hit potential to defend against enemy sweepers. Big yap ik
@Alex-zr4zp not a big fan of the idea of playing something like gyarados or blastoise with palkia vaporeon, gyarados sounds a little redundant as is another 4 energy big attack and blastoise sounds way to clunky having to fit in the deck palkias + a stage 1 line + a stage 2 line + misty. greninja, articuno and lumineon does sound like cards that could benefit from having palkia, i guess there's going to be a lot to try out to see which pokemon are the best partners for palkia.
Based on how the words line up it feels like a safe bet that Honchkrow will target any Pokemon, since on Lumineon the last word extends out to underneath the 50, which we can see is blank on Honchkrow
I think that this makes more sense because it's got a retreat cost of two energies. With 100 HP it's meant to stay in the active spot for longer and the card wouldn't work if it's not able to hit the opposing active Pokémon. Bench hitters like Hitmonlee and Lumineon function because of their low retreat cost.
Cresselia is exactly the card psychic needs to actually answer a drudigon, clears in two on a basic, gets charged by gardevoir, and has a reasonable wall hp pool. I would expect retreat 2, we can tell it's a 3 diamond by the border, so it's something they expect to be good. I am not looking forward to turn 1 Palkia dimensional storm off misty clearing my EX lead. or even just hitting my 60hp basic for 30. Lucario seems crazy for the little fighters package thats been good.
It gets knocked out by any 70 power move that hits it twice, so it's not that crazy of a tank. 110 is a good threshold for a non ex especially, but its biggest downside it's that the best heal cards work with leaf energy, maybe this will change next set tho
@doublejazz the way it works is: You hit with Cresselia, it deals damage and it heals itself at the same time. Then, Druddigon's ability kicks in and damages Cresselia. So, at best, Cresselia would end up with 90HP after taking down Druddigon. Still pretty good and especially after a Potion but not quite the perfect counter.
Something to note: While it's very much a possibility that we end up getting a free-retreat Leafeon for the first time, on paper at least, free retreat on the Eevelutions is usually reserved for Jolteon as it is the fastest of the Eevees and even then a free retreat Jolteon is usually reserved for a Rule-box version of it i.e. an ex version. The 90HP on it makes me think it's going to be just a 1-energy retreat, which is still pretty solid for cycling between two of them for a nice stream of attackers.
I think Palkia's card design is underrated and not talked about in terms of fitting its "Time" legendary status. It has a one energy attack, meaning, it's likely going to be used as a first attacker. It's high cost 2nd attack means it's also likely going to be a finisher pokemon to win the game. First and last. Time. Such a great design thematically.
One combo that could work is Leafeon retreat into Weezing Koga back to Leafeon which would let it attack again. At least that's how it works in TCG live.
i hadn't even considered that you can have 2 lucarios in play. Lucario + Giovanni could allow Machamp to (somewhat) consistently one-shotting almost everything in the game. Might give this a go in the tournament next week
I was thinking about this but I was thinking it would be inconsistent because of the stage two machomp. Lucario is already a stage one himself. But if you could get that to work it would be a nice combo
@@thatkidsay6069 yeah i agree it will likely be more consistent with other fighting attackers as a more tempo build, similar to the primeape, marshadow, aerodactyl ex deck we have now. but should be fun
Much as I was hoping for Scizor / Skarmory / Steelix for some steel support, I'm super hyped for Dialga. Not sure how well it will fare going first though, might feel a little slow
I mainly run a couple of different Blaine decks. Even getting a bit of damage on Dialga with something like Ponyta while building a Ninetales on bench to swap in + Blaine will knock it out quickly. I think overall Blaine decks will still work really well against most thing as they do now, we haven't even seen what new supporters/items/tools will make Blaine decks even faster/better yet. Or if one of the new fire cards will make a nice addition.
The card I'm most worried about is Lucario. 20 extra damage for free on everything fighting type is an insane creep in power. Oh and it stacks too... Giovanni was good, but this, this bonkers. Fighting is eating real good now!
Palkia in place of Mewtwo in the Gren Mewtwo deck that was popular before Mythical Island sounds really good. It can even take the place of Kang since it damages for 30 for 1 energy.
cresselia looks really interesting to me because a lot of basic set-up pokémon right now deal exactly 20dmg. cresselia healing for that amount negates it completely. of course it still takes 2 energy, so you won’t return the bench unharmed, but if you have first energy advantage there’s a good chance you return to the bench with very little damage from all of these 20 & 30 basic hitters we see. even if they evolve quickly, 110 or even 100 is enough to keep you alive against a lot of stage 1’s atm
I think by far the most powerful aspect of Dialga that I haven't seen discussed anywhere isn't as a source of ramp, but as a way to bank your energy placement. With tech cards like Mew, there are many matchups where you are relying on having a stacked Mew ready to swing back into a Charizard, Mewtwo, etc. but if you fail to draw Mew in time, you can't get that energy loaded up. Dialga allows you to mitigate that poor variance, giving you 2 additional turns to safely draw into the Pokemon you need powered on the bench.
Also let's you wait to make that decision as well. I've played a lot of Tauros plus Mew decks that make it hard to pick where you want to put that energy early.
That's a great observation. I initially felt like Dialga would be this expansion's Celebi: Tons of Dialga decks early on, Blaine starts to counter it, people find better metas, etc. but with this point in mind, I could see it being far more versatile and strategic.
I really think they've done a good job with balance thus far and with what we can see here. Lucario looks pretty scary at first read, especially when you consider that it stacks, but then you look at the currently available fighting card pool, and it really doesn't seem overpowered. For example, Luca can definitely work with Machamp EX, but in my head seems like it might play really awkward given the deck's clutter. Hitmonlee straight up gets no bonus from Lucario's presence, so you're kind of wasting deck slots if you pair Luca/Lee. But you kinda HAVE to have Lee in the current meta if you're playing fighting, so you're faced with some interesting trade offs. For my money, Marshadow, Hitmonchan and maybe Kabutops benefit the most from Luca, and maybe a basic fighting EX if we get one. Obviously, there are likely more fighting types to come in this expansion so who knows if what I'm saying will matter, but speculation is fun!
If you're looking for statistic and objective data on the game, Jeff is hands down the best Pocket content creator I found so far. Keep up the good work and may your next pack be an excellent one!
I think Palkia's big use beyond just being a good up front tank is... Combined with vaporeon from mystic. You have someone else you can now start building up with energy, then move the energy around as needed with vaporeon...so this makes it a wonderful tank for a vpreon based energy movement deck.
In the physical TCG Skill Dive targets benched or active (And leafy cyclone is indeed "can't attack"), so I'd wager it's the same here, they tend to be quite consistent with effects of moves when they have the same name.
I'm curious to see if the Cresselia will have an EX version with higher HP and a move that heals even more, or perhaps still 20 but also to your benched Pokemon. My first impression when I saw this card was that it is going to be another 'baby' version of a stronger EX
I was honestly hoping for some more cards but the quality of the cards they are putting out seem to be very solid in my opinion. It feels like a well managed game so far and I hope that 1 i am right and 2 if I am that continues. Not super motivated to play this next week though ngl I have played pretty much all the decks I can think of and all the good tournament decks too.
After thinking about it, I bet the way the implement the Gen 4 babies is giving them an energy when they evolve into their basic. All the existing pokemon with Gen 4 babies have 2+ cost attacks that seem a little prohibitively expensive. And the normal types (Chansey and Snorlax) cost 3 and 4 respectively, so I could even see colorless babies being a "double colorless energy" stand-in.
TL;DR before my detailed thoughts: Don't sleep on Fighting, Tools are wildcards rn, Palkia EX and Dialga EX might fall a bit flatter than one might think. Still good, but they have problems imo. I'm a Promo (Mankey +) Primeape player. That Lucario is making me question which cards I should throw out already, considering that the other four Pokémon are two of each Hitmonlee and Marshadow. With lots of cards to disrupt my opponent, fully embracing the aggressive playstyle. This ability likely means that I can drop the two Giovanni, nice as the surprise 60 Damage on turn 1/2 can be. (Sorry not sorry to the presumably Pikachu EX player who started with just a Dedenne recently.) But I've been somewhat concerned about keeping up with the HP inflation going forward and this Lucario definitely helps with that and tougher matchups like Mewtwo EX. Another Deck I like is Scollipede and Wheezing, but the Honchkrow doesn't excite me too much. Dark has a problem with consistent and reliable threats where the Poison angle is probably the best one atm. Just to, ideally, mess with my opponent's gameplan big time. Attacking the bench would be nice for additional pressure, but anything above 2 Energy is dead in the water at this stage. Pun fully intended. Yet adding it to our toxic duo starts raising the question of what to drop, considering that two Leaf and two Koga have to go in there, as the deck itself likes to do the bench dance. Meaning that 18/20 are static. So I'm hoping that Dark gets a bit more love than just this. Even if it creates a completely new deck. Speaking of love for an undeveloped Type: Hello Dialga EX. I find the balance between two Energy for 30 but two Energy to any Pokémon on your bench fascinating. Really helping those Melmetals and what else might be in the set getting started. Yet it's wide open if I get my ideal start with Primeape. Even if my opponent gets the first Energy. Unless he has that Gio ready. And other Fighting Decks will probably have similar field days when Dialga EX is the lead. Thanks to Lucario. We will have to see, of course, but I am honestly hoping that there's something more waiting to make this metal hit heavy. Pun again intended. Palkia EX is similar but opposite. A good sponge with solid damage for a cheap price in a Type that's all about the set-up and redistribution is honestly a bit ludicrous. But will it ever be more? Dimensional Storm is a bit too much of a hit to the tight Energy economy of these decks and more of a last resort than anything imo. And it can't even knock out Charizard EX without Giovanni's help. So it likely will have an impact early game, but the two points could be ripe for the picking for any bench pressing deck. You know it. Pachirisu EX is definitely an homage and 80 for 2 on an EX isn't anything new. The real question lies in the Tools themselves. Because just two per deck might make this into more of a dream than anything. Yet four could be getting too restrictive with space (ironic). The ones you show however are almost as fascinating as those Dialga EX decisions and will likely decide how the meta actually changes. Leafeon doesn't feel good. Should it be "attack" that's cut off. Which I hope it isn't. I mean that would fit with Leaf Storm dropping Special Attack in the games. But I'm really hoping it's more Petal Dance, preventing retreat. Otherwise this card will just burn away energy, since it likely has to retreat in its cooldown turn. I'll laugh though if there's something like White Herb in the tools though, removing stat drops (or negative effects) once. This could hint at a new supporting Grass Type hidden in the set though and that has me fully intrigued. Cresselia raises a question, honestly. It's a good card. But can it justify its deck space? Probably as a lead in Mewtwo EX, but that deck has largely been figured out. And other Psychic decks... They can't really compete with the OG, sadly. Finally the Cynthia card got me very, very curious. Because Togekiss and Garchomp are both Stage 2 in largely opposing Types, immediately raising energy concerns. Does this mean that Togekiss will be colourless? Or will it be a card for two decks, so to speak. Since Blaine had at least the decency of being restricted to a specific Type. I'm expecting the latter right now though because hitting such a fan favourite character with a deck I'd question the performance of without knowing more would be a terrible move. Though I can see the Togekiss line having supporting and specifically healing moves and even an Ability on that Stage 2. Possibly even on both. Since these are Cynthia's Pokémon, after all. Ultimately, I am biased towards Fighting and that Lucario. Especially if you are correct and the Ability stacks with itself. That's downright scary and I don't want to think about what else could be possible with the remaining cards. And that's where most of my concerns are right now. The remaining cards. Because as overly critical as I was with the other cards we know about (even ignoring that Lucario is a Stage 1, which is a serious drawback since Riolu isn't known to be sturdy), they are surprisingly tame. Dialga EX is begging to not go against Fighting and Palkia EX could turn into easy 2 Points. Especially if your Misty luck isn't good that match. And Leafeon just isn't good if it has any Retreat Cost and unable to attack the next turn. There is a lot missing from this picture and I'm honestly hoping that I'm wrong in my pessimism. Well. We'll see it in less than one week. Until then. o7
Honchkrow is "pokemon" (as opposed to bench pokemon), can tell because if it was "benched pokemon" then we would have seen the letters "-on" in the screenshot
I mainly run different variations of Blaine deck my favourite being 2 Ninetales and 2 Rapidash with a MewEX to counter MewtwoEX or Charizard Crimson if needed. So I think I’ll be happy to go up against that Dialga and the new metal decks. Though I guess I’ll wait on seeing what new items/support may be added to make the deck even better
I think a lucario and kabutops deck will be fun fully set up with 2 lucario it’s doing 90 damage that heals for one energy with 140 hp you basically need to one shot it to beat it The cheap no ex fighting decks are now even more powerful though it also works well with the fighting ex with aerodactyl able to do 120 for 2 and machamp doing 160 for 3 outing it over the break point of most ex except for gyarados and the stage 2 ex
@@dasoupsoup i'd say it's possible given how many pokemons had both a normal and ex version in the first sets but i agree this non ex Lucario already seems a bit too good
palkia is such a good burst of dmg option for a starmie lategame scenario usually i lost rly fast in those cases so with vaporeon being able to pass on the starmie energies to palkia will be rly good
The thing that I don’t hear many people talking about palkia is that it’s being given to water, which is already top 2 and honestly top 1 type when it comes to having support and unique cards. And another thing is that lucario is going to make pikachu EX so much worse by buffing its problem mu, which directly benefits water decks, gyra ex is already top 3 while being countered by pikachu ex I can’t imagine how good it would be without pikachu EX in a top spot
Cynthia's effect = Blaine's effect Both work similarly. The only problem with Cynthia will be both are stage 2 My thoughts: 1. What will be Garchomp second energy typing requirement as a dragon type. The first one will be fighting since Garchomp was a ground-type as well. 2. Togekiss typing a colorless (normal/flying) or psychic (fairy). 3. Another possible info was Garchomp and Togekiss will not be ex since Budding expeditioner had a specific text "Mew ex" on the description.
Would have been cool for the legendaries to be dragons with cool dual color combos. Liken the set to a Ravnica vibe in that they go for dual color stuff. Too advanced for A2, but a missed opportunity with such iconic legendary pokemon
That vid was great! Didnt notice that dialga didnt specify metal type mons, thats gonna be so broken! Could replace the stupid grass snake in celebi decks🤔
It's worth noting that the dragon-type Garchomp/Gible line in the TCG uses water + fighting energy akin to how dragonite uses water/electric and druddigon uses water/fire
Keep in mind cynthia is a 4 card combo requiring 2 different stage 2 mons so consistency is mid tier most likely, also palkia is probably gona require wash-out vaporeon to be used properly
Thanks for this informations! The best pokemon tcgp content creator!!! What you think, which decks are tier 1 after this set releasing. I think melmetal dialga and some fossil decks
Leafeon can work decently with EXeggutor, since it only needs 1 energy to work. Or with Beedrill I guess but ehhh Stage 2. Dialga can work nicely even with GA Golem. Honchkrow while we can't see the energy requirement properly, there's enough blank space to guess it'll either be 2 or 1.
Palkia seems like it might find a home for Vaporeon. Put Palkia up front and start hitting while building something up in the backline, swap the big hitter in, then retreat it if it’s low, move its energy to Palkia, and let Palkia mop up.
Dialga is easly going for my melmetal butterfree deck and pidgeot deck. Lucario is going to my fighting rush (marshadow, lee, mi primeape, aerodactyl ex). Maybe removing an Aerodactyl
Dialga is somewhat over average if you think about it (2 and 4 energies for the attacks with below average damage). A good fire aggro deck like Blaine will be good againsts this one. Well somehow it was a great addition to metal deck and making it more consistent.
Forget about Palkia and Dialga, Lucario takes the cake. The fighting type deck is already strong. Now imagine primeape dealing 70 damage with 1 energy ? Or Golem doing 140 as a non EX ? This ability is going to be crazy, even worse if the effect can stack
Think it's time we take that leaker seriously
Yep. 2/2 - we start believing until they miss at this point.
He did say the drop was the 30th when it’s the 29th so he can be wrong. But pretty spot on
@@Wolf-re3eq Timezones
@@Wolf-re3eqit is on the 30th for the other side of the world. Gotta remember this is a global game.
@@Wolf-re3eqthe tweet says 30th too.
It’s awkward because it’ll likely be time zone dependent
The best part of new packs is hearing Jeff's unique pronounciations of pokemon names
He's not like other girls
Honk crow
Pakorisu
Cres-selah
@@SamLugo De Nay Nay
Lucario buff to Marshadow revenge attack now hitting new breakpoints. I love it.
also primeape hitting 70 for 1 energy
@@aquabee99 and with a giovani and to Pikachu ex it does 100 for 1 energy.
If they drop a pokemon tool that reduces damage taken, kabutops could be an absolute force with a lucario or two
The era of Lord Dome is nigh!
His health has been the only think holding him back from the meta, hopefully we get some fossil support too
Good lord that could be so much fun. Sign me up!
Eviolite exist , but it only works on basic pokemon
Could also be a tool that increases max hp. I really hope there is one that does one or the other since it would also buff mons like venusaur and specially Melmetal, whose main weakness is that a lot of mons just KO it in one hit.
7:48 I think Honchkrow says “pokemon” not “benched pokemon”, we would be able to see the end of the word pokemon if it had the word benched as well
I noticed that as well, but it looks like that would also mean it's a 3 energy attack based on where the name of the attack starts compared to Seadra.
@ most likely, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it only needed 2, Water types have to be balanced around Misty but Darkness doesn’t
@@pjanderson4876it’s probably 3 if it’s not bench look at other snipers zebstrika stage 1 30 damage for 1, electabuzz basic 40 damage for 2, seadra stage 1 50 damage for 3
And for your argument of misty acceleration we also have lumineon stage 1 50 to bench only for 2
50 for 2 energy with 100 hp would be really strong not saying it’s definitely not happening but if we are comparing similar cards it seems unlikely
It’s likely that if it can target any it will be 3 energy since that lines up with most other sniper especially with 100 hp as well
@@jamesbryce8577 I think it will be 3, but Lumineon also does have 0 retreat cost, I think Honchkrow had 2? That’s also gonna be a balancing factor here. I’m just saying I’m not gonna be surprised if it’s 2, not that I think it should be two
HP usually balances Retreat cost, Energy cost and type usually balances attack damage and effect. If Honchkrow is 3 energy it’s practically worthless, if it’s 2 energy it’s pretty good but not OP in my opinion
Machamp and Aerodactyl gonna hit hard with lucario
Lucario is one I'm super super excited for, +20 to all fighting attacks for free from bench is so good, especially given that it stacks!
machamp one shot 150 bois with gio
Aerodactyl Lucario with 3 or 4 basics max and two fossils is gonna be super consistent for getting that +40 early
Hell, throw in kabutops too
@@KaloyanFilipov my gosh, kabutops heal 70 - 90 per attack is crazy af 💥💥, heal 100 with gio
Good lord. Dalgia feels like a card people are going to force everywhere.
You still need 2 metal energy so it can’t so everywhere
@crimson_reigns8987 I agree, 2 metal energy requirement take it out of decks with other types.
Dialga does offer energy ramp to colorless, though (Colorless can just play Metal energy), so ramping things like Mew ex or Wigglytuff could be big.
@ for sure
It can only be used in a metal deck with colorless support, though. So Mew, Taurus, Pidgeot, etc. will be good with it, but if they run a different color deck Dialga will be pointless.
I feel like so far for what we have Dialga EX will be best for Melmetal or maybe Wiggly EX or Pidgeot EX.
First thing that comes to mind with palkia is a starmie vaporeon build, as palkia is not only a great lead while you're evolving your basics on your bench and building energy, but also a fantastic finisher to end the game.
Now, how good that concept is depends on what other cards we are getting on the set, but i'm excited to try the idea as soon as i (hopefully) pull my palkias!
Honestly palklia is super versatile for EX decks, you could see it with starmie for an aggro deck with big finisher potential, articuno for a midgame playstyle or as a wall with a heaver mon like gyarados or blastoise - with vaporeon in many of these. However I'd more expect to see a non EX paring like greninja or lumenion to snipe the bench with palkia being the big hit potential to defend against enemy sweepers. Big yap ik
@Alex-zr4zp not a big fan of the idea of playing something like gyarados or blastoise with palkia vaporeon, gyarados sounds a little redundant as is another 4 energy big attack and blastoise sounds way to clunky having to fit in the deck palkias + a stage 1 line + a stage 2 line + misty.
greninja, articuno and lumineon does sound like cards that could benefit from having palkia, i guess there's going to be a lot to try out to see which pokemon are the best partners for palkia.
Based on how the words line up it feels like a safe bet that Honchkrow will target any Pokemon, since on Lumineon the last word extends out to underneath the 50, which we can see is blank on Honchkrow
I think that this makes more sense because it's got a retreat cost of two energies. With 100 HP it's meant to stay in the active spot for longer and the card wouldn't work if it's not able to hit the opposing active Pokémon. Bench hitters like Hitmonlee and Lumineon function because of their low retreat cost.
Cresselia is exactly the card psychic needs to actually answer a drudigon, clears in two on a basic, gets charged by gardevoir, and has a reasonable wall hp pool. I would expect retreat 2, we can tell it's a 3 diamond by the border, so it's something they expect to be good.
I am not looking forward to turn 1 Palkia dimensional storm off misty clearing my EX lead. or even just hitting my 60hp basic for 30.
Lucario seems crazy for the little fighters package thats been good.
New cresselia looks crazy to me basic 110 health, 50 damage 2 energy and 20 heals on attack, crazy wall
Exactly. Gonna slot directly into Mewtwo decks
Also, (almost) perfectly counters Drudiggon
@@rraimundobruno 2 hitting Drud without taking damage is crazy for sure
It gets knocked out by any 70 power move that hits it twice, so it's not that crazy of a tank. 110 is a good threshold for a non ex especially, but its biggest downside it's that the best heal cards work with leaf energy, maybe this will change next set tho
@doublejazz the way it works is:
You hit with Cresselia, it deals damage and it heals itself at the same time.
Then, Druddigon's ability kicks in and damages Cresselia.
So, at best, Cresselia would end up with 90HP after taking down Druddigon. Still pretty good and especially after a Potion but not quite the perfect counter.
Something to note:
While it's very much a possibility that we end up getting a free-retreat Leafeon for the first time, on paper at least, free retreat on the Eevelutions is usually reserved for Jolteon as it is the fastest of the Eevees and even then a free retreat Jolteon is usually reserved for a Rule-box version of it i.e. an ex version.
The 90HP on it makes me think it's going to be just a 1-energy retreat, which is still pretty solid for cycling between two of them for a nice stream of attackers.
@@aberomoa5149 do you think garchomp will be fighting/dark or fighting/water?
@@aberomoa5149 do you think garchomp will be fighting/dark or fighting/water?
I think Palkia's card design is underrated and not talked about in terms of fitting its "Time" legendary status. It has a one energy attack, meaning, it's likely going to be used as a first attacker. It's high cost 2nd attack means it's also likely going to be a finisher pokemon to win the game. First and last. Time. Such a great design thematically.
The new lucario for fighting box looks amazing!
looks nutty, esp on a stage 1
Did this card randomly get leaked? Didn’t see it in the trailer
@@Wolf-re3eq It was leaked in promotional press material distributed by TPCI
@@aereon_gaming i dont think its a leak at that point bestie...
Time to cook funny dialga ramp colorless cards deck
Finally it’s Snorlax turbo time.
Lickitung go brrrr
@@lorenzokousei6192 fellow gambler I see
@@lorenzokousei6192Lickitung getting his evo as well
Dialga Wigglytuff
One combo that could work is Leafeon retreat into Weezing Koga back to Leafeon which would let it attack again. At least that's how it works in TCG live.
i would main that. i already main weezing variation and leafeon is one of my favourite pokemons
i hadn't even considered that you can have 2 lucarios in play. Lucario + Giovanni could allow Machamp to (somewhat) consistently one-shotting almost everything in the game. Might give this a go in the tournament next week
I was thinking about this but I was thinking it would be inconsistent because of the stage two machomp. Lucario is already a stage one himself. But if you could get that to work it would be a nice combo
@@thatkidsay6069 yeah i agree it will likely be more consistent with other fighting attackers as a more tempo build, similar to the primeape, marshadow, aerodactyl ex deck we have now. but should be fun
The Japanese version of Honchkrow has a retreat cost of 1. Wonder which version is the correct one…
Much as I was hoping for Scizor / Skarmory / Steelix for some steel support, I'm super hyped for Dialga.
Not sure how well it will fare going first though, might feel a little slow
We'd probably get Bornzong instead in this one.
Blaine rapidash is going to be a MENACE for Dialga
I mainly run a couple of different Blaine decks.
Even getting a bit of damage on Dialga with something like Ponyta while building a Ninetales on bench to swap in + Blaine will knock it out quickly.
I think overall Blaine decks will still work really well against most thing as they do now, we haven't even seen what new supporters/items/tools will make Blaine decks even faster/better yet. Or if one of the new fire cards will make a nice addition.
The card I'm most worried about is Lucario. 20 extra damage for free on everything fighting type is an insane creep in power. Oh and it stacks too...
Giovanni was good, but this, this bonkers. Fighting is eating real good now!
Palkia in place of Mewtwo in the Gren Mewtwo deck that was popular before Mythical Island sounds really good. It can even take the place of Kang since it damages for 30 for 1 energy.
One point about Cynthia: both Togekiss and Garchomp are stage 2 Pokemon versus Blaine who works with Stage 1s. The +50 is a balance of that alone.
cresselia looks really interesting to me because a lot of basic set-up pokémon right now deal exactly 20dmg. cresselia healing for that amount negates it completely. of course it still takes 2 energy, so you won’t return the bench unharmed, but if you have first energy advantage there’s a good chance you return to the bench with very little damage from all of these 20 & 30 basic hitters we see. even if they evolve quickly, 110 or even 100 is enough to keep you alive against a lot of stage 1’s atm
Colorless decks + dialga and a mew tech might be the way to go during the first week of the expansion!
I think by far the most powerful aspect of Dialga that I haven't seen discussed anywhere isn't as a source of ramp, but as a way to bank your energy placement. With tech cards like Mew, there are many matchups where you are relying on having a stacked Mew ready to swing back into a Charizard, Mewtwo, etc. but if you fail to draw Mew in time, you can't get that energy loaded up. Dialga allows you to mitigate that poor variance, giving you 2 additional turns to safely draw into the Pokemon you need powered on the bench.
Also let's you wait to make that decision as well. I've played a lot of Tauros plus Mew decks that make it hard to pick where you want to put that energy early.
Yep. Lets you hedge placement, can hide info by holding those cards in hand. Very strong card!
That's a great observation. I initially felt like Dialga would be this expansion's Celebi: Tons of Dialga decks early on, Blaine starts to counter it, people find better metas, etc. but with this point in mind, I could see it being far more versatile and strategic.
I really think they've done a good job with balance thus far and with what we can see here. Lucario looks pretty scary at first read, especially when you consider that it stacks, but then you look at the currently available fighting card pool, and it really doesn't seem overpowered. For example, Luca can definitely work with Machamp EX, but in my head seems like it might play really awkward given the deck's clutter. Hitmonlee straight up gets no bonus from Lucario's presence, so you're kind of wasting deck slots if you pair Luca/Lee. But you kinda HAVE to have Lee in the current meta if you're playing fighting, so you're faced with some interesting trade offs. For my money, Marshadow, Hitmonchan and maybe Kabutops benefit the most from Luca, and maybe a basic fighting EX if we get one.
Obviously, there are likely more fighting types to come in this expansion so who knows if what I'm saying will matter, but speculation is fun!
If you're looking for statistic and objective data on the game, Jeff is hands down the best Pocket content creator I found so far. Keep up the good work and may your next pack be an excellent one!
I think Palkia's big use beyond just being a good up front tank is...
Combined with vaporeon from mystic. You have someone else you can now start building up with energy, then move the energy around as needed with vaporeon...so this makes it a wonderful tank for a vpreon based energy movement deck.
Love how carefully they worded Lucario's ability so Hitmonlee wouldn't just smash through everyone's bench played straight from the hand 😅
All these years and I'm just noticing Cresselia has hands 😂
lol same :D
after 19 years
Wtf
Wait, what?
In the physical TCG Skill Dive targets benched or active (And leafy cyclone is indeed "can't attack"), so I'd wager it's the same here, they tend to be quite consistent with effects of moves when they have the same name.
Ngl Luminion Palkia might be crazy being able to hit the bench a bunch
9:02 absolutey BUTCHERED the pronunciation...
Me and crown charizard are waiting to melt those metals
Fantastic video, really appreciate your effort!
I'm curious to see if the Cresselia will have an EX version with higher HP and a move that heals even more, or perhaps still 20 but also to your benched Pokemon. My first impression when I saw this card was that it is going to be another 'baby' version of a stronger EX
Surprised nobody said this but Dialga sets up future Steelix SUPER nice. One tank setting up another tank 👀
Dialga and Lickitung would be crazy
😛
🤪
Also possibly notable for Cresselia is she is a pure psychic type in the video game, so her weakness will likely be dark.
mr jeff, pachirisu and honchkrow are pronounced like watch is with the 'ch'
I've noticed a lot of pokemon tcgp content creators have incorrect pronunciations in general
Now Misti has a Mewtwo to attach water energy to.
I was honestly hoping for some more cards but the quality of the cards they are putting out seem to be very solid in my opinion. It feels like a well managed game so far and I hope that 1 i am right and 2 if I am that continues. Not super motivated to play this next week though ngl I have played pretty much all the decks I can think of and all the good tournament decks too.
After thinking about it, I bet the way the implement the Gen 4 babies is giving them an energy when they evolve into their basic. All the existing pokemon with Gen 4 babies have 2+ cost attacks that seem a little prohibitively expensive. And the normal types (Chansey and Snorlax) cost 3 and 4 respectively, so I could even see colorless babies being a "double colorless energy" stand-in.
Jeff the differance between u and other youtubers is, when u ask for a like, i like. Good shit brother
I knew u really read it all lol
As a big fighting type fan, I'm excited for Lucario! Hopefully it has some good trainer support too.
The power creep is real. But that was to be expected, hearing some long time players of OG Pokemon TCG.
TL;DR before my detailed thoughts: Don't sleep on Fighting, Tools are wildcards rn, Palkia EX and Dialga EX might fall a bit flatter than one might think. Still good, but they have problems imo.
I'm a Promo (Mankey +) Primeape player. That Lucario is making me question which cards I should throw out already, considering that the other four Pokémon are two of each Hitmonlee and Marshadow. With lots of cards to disrupt my opponent, fully embracing the aggressive playstyle. This ability likely means that I can drop the two Giovanni, nice as the surprise 60 Damage on turn 1/2 can be. (Sorry not sorry to the presumably Pikachu EX player who started with just a Dedenne recently.) But I've been somewhat concerned about keeping up with the HP inflation going forward and this Lucario definitely helps with that and tougher matchups like Mewtwo EX.
Another Deck I like is Scollipede and Wheezing, but the Honchkrow doesn't excite me too much. Dark has a problem with consistent and reliable threats where the Poison angle is probably the best one atm. Just to, ideally, mess with my opponent's gameplan big time. Attacking the bench would be nice for additional pressure, but anything above 2 Energy is dead in the water at this stage. Pun fully intended. Yet adding it to our toxic duo starts raising the question of what to drop, considering that two Leaf and two Koga have to go in there, as the deck itself likes to do the bench dance. Meaning that 18/20 are static. So I'm hoping that Dark gets a bit more love than just this. Even if it creates a completely new deck.
Speaking of love for an undeveloped Type: Hello Dialga EX. I find the balance between two Energy for 30 but two Energy to any Pokémon on your bench fascinating. Really helping those Melmetals and what else might be in the set getting started. Yet it's wide open if I get my ideal start with Primeape. Even if my opponent gets the first Energy. Unless he has that Gio ready. And other Fighting Decks will probably have similar field days when Dialga EX is the lead. Thanks to Lucario. We will have to see, of course, but I am honestly hoping that there's something more waiting to make this metal hit heavy. Pun again intended.
Palkia EX is similar but opposite. A good sponge with solid damage for a cheap price in a Type that's all about the set-up and redistribution is honestly a bit ludicrous. But will it ever be more? Dimensional Storm is a bit too much of a hit to the tight Energy economy of these decks and more of a last resort than anything imo. And it can't even knock out Charizard EX without Giovanni's help. So it likely will have an impact early game, but the two points could be ripe for the picking for any bench pressing deck. You know it.
Pachirisu EX is definitely an homage and 80 for 2 on an EX isn't anything new. The real question lies in the Tools themselves. Because just two per deck might make this into more of a dream than anything. Yet four could be getting too restrictive with space (ironic). The ones you show however are almost as fascinating as those Dialga EX decisions and will likely decide how the meta actually changes.
Leafeon doesn't feel good. Should it be "attack" that's cut off. Which I hope it isn't. I mean that would fit with Leaf Storm dropping Special Attack in the games. But I'm really hoping it's more Petal Dance, preventing retreat. Otherwise this card will just burn away energy, since it likely has to retreat in its cooldown turn. I'll laugh though if there's something like White Herb in the tools though, removing stat drops (or negative effects) once. This could hint at a new supporting Grass Type hidden in the set though and that has me fully intrigued.
Cresselia raises a question, honestly. It's a good card. But can it justify its deck space? Probably as a lead in Mewtwo EX, but that deck has largely been figured out. And other Psychic decks... They can't really compete with the OG, sadly.
Finally the Cynthia card got me very, very curious. Because Togekiss and Garchomp are both Stage 2 in largely opposing Types, immediately raising energy concerns. Does this mean that Togekiss will be colourless? Or will it be a card for two decks, so to speak. Since Blaine had at least the decency of being restricted to a specific Type. I'm expecting the latter right now though because hitting such a fan favourite character with a deck I'd question the performance of without knowing more would be a terrible move. Though I can see the Togekiss line having supporting and specifically healing moves and even an Ability on that Stage 2. Possibly even on both. Since these are Cynthia's Pokémon, after all.
Ultimately, I am biased towards Fighting and that Lucario. Especially if you are correct and the Ability stacks with itself. That's downright scary and I don't want to think about what else could be possible with the remaining cards. And that's where most of my concerns are right now. The remaining cards. Because as overly critical as I was with the other cards we know about (even ignoring that Lucario is a Stage 1, which is a serious drawback since Riolu isn't known to be sturdy), they are surprisingly tame. Dialga EX is begging to not go against Fighting and Palkia EX could turn into easy 2 Points. Especially if your Misty luck isn't good that match. And Leafeon just isn't good if it has any Retreat Cost and unable to attack the next turn. There is a lot missing from this picture and I'm honestly hoping that I'm wrong in my pessimism. Well. We'll see it in less than one week. Until then. o7
Honchkrow is "pokemon" (as opposed to bench pokemon), can tell because if it was "benched pokemon" then we would have seen the letters "-on" in the screenshot
Not being able to read the Leafeon, I wonder if the last word could also be 'retreat' which would be interesting as well
Dialga Pidgeot is what imma play first no question, looks amazing for colorless decks then I'll migrate towards wiggly when im feeling evil.
I mainly run different variations of Blaine deck my favourite being 2 Ninetales and 2 Rapidash with a MewEX to counter MewtwoEX or Charizard Crimson if needed. So I think I’ll be happy to go up against that Dialga and the new metal decks.
Though I guess I’ll wait on seeing what new items/support may be added to make the deck even better
Can’t wait for Darkrai hopefully dark type is even more playable this update
Do we know if darkrai will also be introduced? Makes sense with cresselia coming in but I’ve seen 0 talk about him.
Good summary but your pronounciation of Pachirisu and Honchcrow as ‘Pakirisu’ and ‘Honkcrow’ got me lol
Anyone know if Lucarios Ability stacks with another copy on the bench?
the only precedent we have for this is serperior, which specifies the effect doesn't stack, so I would assume it does stack
Greninja's water shuriken can be used multiple times so I would expect this too due to the wording.
Good information, thanks Jeff.
If what you said about retreat cost relating to speed is accurate, Cresselia sould have a 1 or 0 retreat cost. Super solid addition to psychic decks
I think a lucario and kabutops deck will be fun fully set up with 2 lucario it’s doing 90 damage that heals for one energy with 140 hp you basically need to one shot it to beat it
The cheap no ex fighting decks are now even more powerful though it also works well with the fighting ex with aerodactyl able to do 120 for 2 and machamp doing 160 for 3 outing it over the break point of most ex except for gyarados and the stage 2 ex
I think there might be another card that combos with Palkia to make it’s second attack more consistent, like how Mewtwo combos with Gardevoir.
Fighting is likely the next drop event as they are preparing us with that psychic mass event. I can see Lucario ex coming to the game.
@@joek0620 would be highly disappointed if we don’t get a Lucario EX
I doubt we're getting both a Lucario with an ability and a Lucario ex in the same set.
@@dasoupsoup i'd say it's possible given how many pokemons had both a normal and ex version in the first sets but i agree this non ex Lucario already seems a bit too good
Dialga looks interesting. Could stuff it into a golem deck and run Brock for fighting energy. Can't wait to see the rest of the set
palkia is such a good burst of dmg option for a starmie lategame scenario
usually i lost rly fast in those cases so with vaporeon being able to pass on the starmie energies to palkia will be rly good
Love Honch-crow, one of my favorite Pokemon
The thing that I don’t hear many people talking about palkia is that it’s being given to water, which is already top 2 and honestly top 1 type when it comes to having support and unique cards.
And another thing is that lucario is going to make pikachu EX so much worse by buffing its problem mu, which directly benefits water decks, gyra ex is already top 3 while being countered by pikachu ex I can’t imagine how good it would be without pikachu EX in a top spot
If item tools comes then we probably need more deck space either now or future
Cynthia's effect = Blaine's effect
Both work similarly.
The only problem with Cynthia will be both are stage 2
My thoughts:
1. What will be Garchomp second energy typing requirement as a dragon type. The first one will be fighting since Garchomp was a ground-type as well.
2. Togekiss typing a colorless (normal/flying) or psychic (fairy).
3. Another possible info was Garchomp and Togekiss will not be ex since Budding expeditioner had a specific text "Mew ex" on the description.
Lucario newmankey is going to be an insane no ex deck wow
Would have been cool for the legendaries to be dragons with cool dual color combos. Liken the set to a Ravnica vibe in that they go for dual color stuff. Too advanced for A2, but a missed opportunity with such iconic legendary pokemon
You didn't play any main line Pokemon game before TCG Pocket?
This guy is known for content on card games, not on Pokemon itself
Omg rock chest plate would be crazy in pocket.
I’m excited for Lucario + Kabutops hit and heal for 70 👌
Unfortunate you can’t use hitmonlee
That vid was great! Didnt notice that dialga didnt specify metal type mons, thats gonna be so broken! Could replace the stupid grass snake in celebi decks🤔
Must have missed the Lucario in the trailer, but still excited to see some of the other cards. Wonder if Cresselia would also have an EX version
Lucario looks amazing Im so excited for this set
Palkia and Vaporean with ability will probably be pretty good
i fuck with the way you drop content gang
It's worth noting that the dragon-type Garchomp/Gible line in the TCG uses water + fighting energy akin to how dragonite uses water/electric and druddigon uses water/fire
secondly, if leafeon is coming then 99% chance glaceon is as well, which is relevant because it will use the same energy as vaporeon
Keep in mind cynthia is a 4 card combo requiring 2 different stage 2 mons so consistency is mid tier most likely, also palkia is probably gona require wash-out vaporeon to be used properly
Thanks for this informations!
The best pokemon tcgp content creator!!!
What you think, which decks are tier 1 after this set releasing.
I think melmetal dialga and some fossil decks
Lucario is the beacon fighting was looking for.. I have so many 💡 ideas
Leafeon can work decently with EXeggutor, since it only needs 1 energy to work. Or with Beedrill I guess but ehhh Stage 2.
Dialga can work nicely even with GA Golem.
Honchkrow while we can't see the energy requirement properly, there's enough blank space to guess it'll either be 2 or 1.
Palkia seems like it might find a home for Vaporeon. Put Palkia up front and start hitting while building something up in the backline, swap the big hitter in, then retreat it if it’s low, move its energy to Palkia, and let Palkia mop up.
Articuno/palkia with Vaporeon support?
Metal deck players are eating, about time!
looking at honk row, i feel like we'd see the edge of the darkness energy if it was 3 or 4.
Dialga/Pidgeot/Mew seems a potentially solid deck.
Incoming dialga snorlax/chansey decks
New decks with viability is so nice to seeee always happy
I just hope we get better Dark Decks from this
palkia misty first turn 150 wtf
More tolerable than Articuno. At least with Palkia you need to discard. Instead, constant 80 damage from turn 2 is unbeatable.
Dialga is easly going for my melmetal butterfree deck and pidgeot deck.
Lucario is going to my fighting rush (marshadow, lee, mi primeape, aerodactyl ex). Maybe removing an Aerodactyl
lucario will be good in a primape deck with the promo mankey dealing 120 damage off 2 energy
My thought for leafeon's cut off text is can't retreat. I feel like can't attack would be a strange effect to have
I'm calling it now, we won't be getting a Giratina in this set, and the next mini-set will be Giratina focused.
imagine if garchomp takes colorless, that thing is gonna wreck
I'm only just now realizing that Gardevoir's ability only adds energy to psychic types.
Jeff butchering pokemon names is like a family tradition at this point. Its the reason i get excited to watch these reveal videos.
Dialga is somewhat over average if you think about it (2 and 4 energies for the attacks with below average damage). A good fire aggro deck like Blaine will be good againsts this one. Well somehow it was a great addition to metal deck and making it more consistent.
One important point in cresselia too is that it has no weakness, that helps a lot to sell it haas a good leading pokemon
It is weak to dark and you can see it on the card in the video lol
@@Alex-vm6ef you are right, i just forgot that the weakness type simbol goes after the weakness word, not before
Considering the positioning of Honchkrow attack, we can assume it is 2 Energy
Forget about Palkia and Dialga, Lucario takes the cake. The fighting type deck is already strong. Now imagine primeape dealing 70 damage with 1 energy ? Or Golem doing 140 as a non EX ? This ability is going to be crazy, even worse if the effect can stack
I feel like it might as if you use blue with Melmetal which already decreases damage taken, blue then further decreases it, so I wouldn't see why not.