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Old 05-01-2013, 05:31 PM   #1
Yougirasu
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Shroomish Plasma Freeze and more... (TCG)

Well, it's been a while since I've made a news post here and, what can I say. The sets haven't been overly interesting of late and we gained a new series of Pokemon and Trainers that relate to Team Plasma. This is all well and good, but the game is ready for some change and these guys haven't brought that with them, yet.
Obviously, time is growing short for this TCG year. Worlds is but a few months away now and the Plasma Freeze set is the final release that Europe, the US, Australia and anywhere else that gets these releases are going to see. After that, things will be on a clean slate and everyone will be scrabbling to get points for next years Worlds. But, what does Plasma Freeze have to offer at this late a stage? Well, it's main focus seems to be building up the Team Plasma Pokemon and their related trainers, some of which were cut from the previous set. Obviously, not every Pokemon in the set belongs to Team Plasma, but they do have some interesting niche's. Unlike previous news posts, I'm going to keep overviews of each card as brief as I can. The reason for this is because I have two additional bits of information to throw out there (mostly speculative currently) and I don't want to bore you with chunky paragraphs on several cards before you get to something that I hope will be a talking point. So, let's get into it.

#11, Leafeon.

Kicking things off, we have the first Eeveeloution on this list and a Team Plasma Pokemon. It's got a modest 100HP to keep it going with all the standard stats of a Grass typed Pokemon. This card is extremely splashable when it comes to a deck-list, the only concern being keeping it alive with Pokemon Catcher in the format. The reason for this being Leafeon's first attack, Energy Crush, which uses a single, Colourless energy. For this cost, you dish out 20 damage to the opposing pokemon, per energy attached to all of your opponents Pokemon. This attack may have appeared in various forms before, but I like it on Leafeon due to the Plasma support. It does have a second attack called Leaf Blade, but it's lacking compared to its first attack. Altogether nice card against energy heavy decks.

#13, Heatran EX.

I know that I put this guy on the list, but I'm having a tough time remembering why exactly. He's a Team Plasma Pokemon with a somewhat high, for an EX, 180HP and the usual Fire type stats, with a heavy retreat cost. Oh, now I'm starting to get it. First up is Heat Boiler, an attack that makes use of the many, many Hypnotoxic Laser cards that are about (automatically poisons the opponent with a chance of putting them to sleep). It uses one Fire and two Colourless energies to deal 60 damage, which is doubled if Heatran EX is suffering from a special condition. The second attack needs an extra Fire energy, but isn't as interesting as it deals 80 damage, gaining a boost equal to the damage on the defending Pokemon, if Heatran EX has a specific energy attached.

#16, Chandelure.

The best, non-EX fire type in the set, hands down. Also a Team Plasma Pokemon, Chandelure has 130HP, not bad but not great either, and the same weakness and resistance as all Fire types. Chandelure's interesting trait comes in its Ability, Flare Navigate, which is similar to the Afterburner Poke-Power that Typhlosion had way back when. Only, instead of going from the discard, Flare Navigate takes a Fire energy from the deck and attaches it, dealing 10 damage to the receiving Pokemon. To complement that (how often does that happen?), Chandelure's attack, Absorb Life, helps balance things out by healing 30 off Chandelure and dealing 70 damage. It takes a couple of turns to charge up, needing two Fire energy and one Colourless, but with Flare Navigate that can be accelerated.

#33, Electrode.

The first non-Plasma Pokemon on this list and a card with a chance to replace Eelektrik in terms of usefulness. Electrode is fairly frail with 90HP and has its Fighting weakness. However, it makes up for this with its Ability, Magnetic Draw. This works for decks that constantly have small hands as Electrode will allow you to boost it to 4 cards once per turn (I'd have to go check with someone, but if it's anything like the previously mentioned Typhlosion then that could be once per turn, per Electrode). Filling up a thin hand can be a godsend at certain points, an example being when you've only got one prize left and your opponent plays N, and having this card out can turn things around. Electrode isn't much of an attacker, a 3 energy attack for 60 damage, but if he can stay on the bench, he'll help you out when you need it.

#47, Mr. Mime.

A simple card that's even frailer than Electrode, but worth a quick mention. He has 70HP, a Psychic weakness and a nice Ability. Bench Barrier does exactly what is says, it provides protection for your bench when it comes to damage. Mr. Mime also has a cheap attack, costing one Psychic and one Colourless for 20 damage and a chance for paralysis. But with Catcher about, he's not sturdy enough to make a stand. He is worth a look at though.

#48, Espeon.

Straight after Mr. Mime numerically, we have one of my favourite Pokemon who's taken his Plasma membership to heart and started breaking all the rules. It's light on HP with only 90, like Electrode, and has a Psychic weakness. It's two attacks need a single energy each and the first is Colourless. Psy Alert deals out 20 damage, not that much, but allows you to draw until you have 6 cards in your hand. That's useful, but situational. However, put a Psychic energy down, which would cover the cost for both attacks, and you have access to Shadow Ball. This attack can strike any of your opponents Pokemon for 40 damage, not much to look at when you consider the normal status for these attacks. But, as I mentioned, Espeon's breaking the status quo. Shadow Ball can strike your opponents benched Pokemon for Weakness! Although, this also applies in reverse meaning that it can also be affected by resistance. But, I have yet to see a card that does this.

#53, Deoxys EX.

Deoxys EX, the Mewtwo EX of Plasma Freeze, you can expect prices to be high for this guy and even higher for his full art form. Deoxys even has all the same stats, so if you want to know them, go find a Mewtwo EX. Why's this guy getting this attention? Well, it's because of the Power Connect Ability which allows all Team Plasma Pokemon (excluding Deoxys EX) to deal an additional 10 damage with their attacks, before applying weakness and resistance. This could be a massive boost, using Espeon as an example, it could KO a benched Deoxys EX in two turns when boosted by its own Deoxys EX, compared to the three it would take without. Deoxys EX also has a nice attack, which uses the niche Plasma Energy. Helix Force deals just 30 damage for a Psychic and a Colourless energy but, if you've got that Plasma Energy then it does 30 more for each energy the opposing Pokemon has.

#64, Umbreon.

Wrapping up my Eeveeloution trio (Glaceon just missed out) we have Umberon. Umbreon has 100HP and the standard Dark type stats. However, this guy wouldn't just fit into Eeveeloution decks. Its Ability, Dark Shade, gives every Team Plasma Pokemon you own +20 HP and being a Team Plasma Pokemon itself, it technically has 120HP. It has a simple attack needing one Dark energy and two Colourless to deal 70 damage, but it should really be considered for the HP boost alone.

#84, Kingdra.

Another Stage 2 worth a mention. Kingdra has 140HP and being a Dragon type, is weak to itself. This guy has ties back to the Legends Awakened version with his first attack. Dragon Vortex requires only a Colourless energy to be used, but you need to have Water and/or Electric energy in your discard. You count the number of these two types of energy that are in there, multiply that by 20 and there's your damage. The bonus is that you then get to put them back into your deck. This is great for conservation, but a bit of a disappointment in comparison as previously you could take as many or as few energy as you liked. Following that up is Tri Bullet which needs a Water energy and is pretty simple. You deal 30 damage to 3 of your opponents Pokemon.

#85, Latias EX.

My favourite EX in the set, although I'm heavily biased. Latias is also a Dragon and has 160HP. It has the oh-so lovely ability of Bright Down to maximize its HP as this ability stops all effects of attacks, including damage, done to Latias EX if the Pokemon has an Ability. This is great for most EX's as the majority have an Ability and no attack to penetrate Latias's own Ability. Following that up is Barrier Break, for the mirror match. It needs a Fire, Psychic and Colourless energy to use and deals 70 damage, regardless of Weakness, Resistance or Effects... If only it didn't say weakness.

#86, Latios EX.

Brother to Latias, Latios EX is the more openly powerful of the two. He has 170HP, 10 more than his counterpart which will keep him fighting for longer. Mach Flight needs a Psychic and a Colourless energy and doesn't have any nasty restrictions. It deals 40 damage and prevents the opponent from retreating, a nice effect unless your opponent has Keldeo EX or Switch. Throw a Water energy into that mix and you have Luster Purge, Latios's signature attack that will KO any Dragon in the TCG. It deals a nice 150 damage for it's cost, but you have to discards all the energy on Latios EX.

#98, Tornadus EX.

Following just behind Deoxys (at least in my league) for popularity gets this card a mention. It has 180 HP and the stats of a flying type. For just a single, Colourless energy, Tornadus EX will refresh your hand. Windfall has you shuffle what little hand you have into your deck and draw 6 fresh cards for the next turn. Following that up is Jet Blast, which needs four Colourless energy. This only deals 60 damage but, as a Plasma Pokemon and an EX (seriously, all the Team Plama EX's have a similar requirement for better effects), for each Plasma energy on Tornadus EX, that damage is boosted by 30. I personally don't see why he's that great other than the fact that he can fit in anywhere, but I'm sure someone will enlighten me.

#100, Frozen City.

Moving into the triple digits and the Trainers section, Frozen City is the most interesting Stadium since the last set (which was the most interesting Stadium in a long time). Whenever you or your opponent attach an energy from your hand to a non-Team Plasma Pokemon, that Pokemon will receive 20 damage from this card. A nice card to have in your deck if you run only Team Plasma Pokemon. Not so good if you don't.

#101, Ghetsis.

Apparently I've been saying this guys name wrong for years. Ghetsis is an interesting, but situational Supporter that forces your opponent to show you their hand. After that, they take all the Item cards that were in their hand and shuffle them back into their deck, at the same time you get to draw a number of cards equal to the number your opponent shuffled in. As I said, quite situational as many players will play a number of Supporters and less Item cards, so this is really best against decks that would work on returning Item cards to the players hand.

#107, Life Dew.

One of two Ace Spec cards in this set and an interesting card with an ability often reserved for the likes of Shedinja. If the Pokemon that Life Dew is attached to is KO'd for whatever reason, your opponent takes 1 fewer Prize cards. So, if it's on a standard Pokemon, your opponent doesn't get a Prize unless they use Lugia EX. An EX is knocked down to a single Prize. If there's not many Tool Scrappers being run in your area, consider this as your Ace Spec if you don't feel the need for Computer Search because pulling this bad boy out and putting it on a powerful attacker can unbalance the match in your favour.

#108, Rock Guard.

The second Ace Spec and also a Tool card to use on your Pokemon. Rock Guard is like Druddigon (Noble Victories) on steroids and yes, you can attach it to Druddigon to make Druddigon on steroids. Simply put, if your opponent uses an attack to damage your active pokemon and it's holding this Item, the opposing pokemon receives 6 damage counter (60 damage) simply for attacking. And if that pokemon is the Druddigon that you've beefed up, that can be raised to 80 damage. Impressive, but I'm liking Life Dew a little more currently.

And, that's the list of cards I'd like to mention. Of course, I haven't covered everything and there are cards like Thunderous EX, Bisharp and others who would be worth a look at if you have the time. But now for the extras.



The first bit concerns what is coming up after Worlds, that big moment at the end of the TCG year. Yes, I'm talking about Rotation.
We've seen a number of hugely powerful cards that have emerged in the earlier sets, such as Mewtwo EX and Pokemon Catcher to name only two, and rotation is the chance to push these common sights out and open up more variety. Of course, we don't have any official word on the rotation yet, so everything is purely speculation. The most simple idea is that Pokemon will take off the first 4 sets that they printed within the Black and White series. This could cover the staples of every powerhouse deck, Mewtwo EX and Pokemon Catcher, but spares the likes of Keldeo EX and Darkrai EX. But there are things that would need to be considered, such as Mewtwo's promotional release (which came at the same time as Darkrai and Rayquaza's promos) and the Secret Rare catcher that was printed in the Dark Explorers set. This could effectively give these two powerful, commonplace cards a pass through the rotation. Something that I, amongst others wouldn't like to see as there are cards, all similar to those mentioned above (Electrode as an example), which will really only see play when Pokemon Catcher leaves limited play.
So, where do you think Pokemon should place the rotation or, where would you like to see the rotation fall?



Even more speculation for you, Huzzah! In the middle of April, Japan got the news about their upcoming release (I believe it will fall somewhere in August). This new set will entirely consist of reprinted cards from previous sets, a first for Japanese TCG players (although, not for the rest of us). With the rest of the world awaiting the Megalo Cannon cards that will be released around the same time, there is a huge amount of speculation over what this will mean, especially with the release of Pokemon X and Y that will happen just before the next set release.
The main theory, and one that many people are jumping on, is that come late October/early November, the new set that we currently know nothing about, will see a WORLDWIDE release. This would match up with Pokemon's aim to have a global release of Pokemon X and Y, being something that hasn't been done by any trading card game to my knowledge. Of course, this does have its good and bad points. The bad ones being how it will affect the online vendors who deal in single cards from the sets and the people who purchase English/European cards, that will be highly coveted, at prerelease prices before selling them on for profit. However, this negative also helps the players who may be younger or who cannot afford to pay something like Ł40 for a Mewtwo EX when it's released. We will have very little knowledge of the cards before prereleases and this gives cards a chance to be openly tested as well as letting people get ahold of overlooked or undervalued cards, especially if future releases gift them with helpful trainers or support. If you look at the way things are today, players will take the translated Japanese cards and begin testing with them up to 6 months in advance, fleshing out the best cards and the best builds. This can lead to people being overwhelmed or simply ripped off at prerelease events when they pull something that these people desperately want. An example of this would be at my last prerelease, I pulled a Cobalion EX, a nice card to say the least but I had no idea it could be used. Someone else however, with more money than me, was eager to relieve me of it. They pestered me over it for an hour at least, offering trades or cash and then upping their cash offer, all because they wanted it for a tournament next week. Safe to say, the guy pissed me off so much that I shot him down and then traded it off to someone else, who he then bought it from but that didn't matter to me.
But, what do you think about this idea? Do you think Pokemon will go with it, matching the TCG with the Video Games for worldwide releases? If not, let me know why? Or simply let me know how you think either decision will affect the future of the TCG.

Also, I apologize for any typos that may be in there and the fact that I haven't emphasized certain things that I wanted to... I've spent at least an hour and a half writing this up and my eyes are to wonky to go read through it all again.
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Last edited by Yougirasu; 05-09-2013 at 10:40 AM.
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Old 05-02-2013, 05:00 AM   #2
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But, as I mentioned, Espeon's breaking the status quo. Shadow Ball can strike your opponents benched Pokemon for Weakness!
Gotta say, this one line was the one thing that excited me the most out of the entire article.


A Psychic/Fire Deck running Espeon, Latias, and Chandelure sounds fun, but I'll probably be holding off until rotation hits, at least.
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Old 05-02-2013, 07:38 AM   #3
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>Applying Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon

Is nothing sacred?
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Also still looking for ref with brain, although not just now due to Tyranidos running in fear.
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Old 05-02-2013, 08:51 PM   #4
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>Applying Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon

Is nothing sacred?
I agree with Zora on this one ;_;
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Old 05-02-2013, 09:46 PM   #5
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Any chance of getting pics of cards with these?
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Old 05-06-2013, 03:41 AM   #6
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I sure could. Would you prefer the name to become a link that takes you to a picture or would you prefer to have the picture in this thread?

I'd probably use Pokébeach or Serebii for the images, mostly because I only pulled 4 of those cards during the prerelease this weekend. But, heck, I got a Heatran EX, Espeon, Leafeon and Electrode. Yay for Eeveeloutions \o/

>Is nothing Sacred?

Of course not. This is Pokémon and they want your money, so they've got to get creative. Although, it would deal with Mewtwo's in a spectacular way provided you had Deoxys as well as Espeon, if you hit it for 100 whilst it's powering up, you only need to deal 70 more damage to remove the threat. And that, is my thought as to why Espeon can do what it does.
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Old 05-06-2013, 02:01 PM   #7
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Stay off Serebii lol. We all know how crazy they are. Links are fine.
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Old 05-09-2013, 10:45 AM   #8
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Appologies for the delays, but as I was going to tell someone else the other day (I decided not to because it sounded like a lot of effort), I've been doing a ton of jobs around the house these past couple of days (I cleaned up our yard, which hasn't been done since last year) and I've been at a course as well. I really don't like the early starts involved with the course, lol.
But, Links are in and they are from Pokebeach. Also, I found out, at the weekend, that it isn't Tornadus EX everyone wants. It's Thundurus. Possibly because of the first attack, but I'm not overly impressed with the guy. Especially with the way everyone's bigging him up at the minute. But, have a link for him as well
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Castiel: I don't fight any more. I watch the bee's


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PASBL: TL3, 15W/8L/1D, 42 KO's, 95TP, 14.75 SP.

*Certified Ref. Grade: B-*

The Team of Yougi.
24 - 22
21 - 1
4 - 2
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