Cyber Judge and Wild Force: Gym Leader Challenge Set Review
Pokémon Wild Force and _Cyber Judge_Set Review
Hey everyone! It’s been a couple of months. Shiny Treasure ex (AKA Paldean Fates) didn’t have much going for it with regards to playable GLC cards, so I opted to not write about it. The Paldean Fates international release sees the release of some previously cut cards, such as the Gengar and Lanturn from Raging Surf, so we should be seeing some decks cooked up with those cards here very soon! However, if the few cut cards that are finally being released internationally aren’t enough to satiate your desire to deck build and cook some absolute HEAT, perhaps today’s article will do the trick. Welcome to my set review of Japan’s SV5K Wild Force and Cyber Judge (which will comprise most if not all of our March set Temporal Forces). The set sports a lot of Standard format support unfortunately, reprinting older, overpowered cards with more restrictions in their attempt to cultivate a healthy metagame. Since most of the cards being pseudo-reprinted aren’t banned in GLC, many amongst the trainers will leave you wishing for more. However - there are some sleeper cards and combos amongst all of these cards that I’m excited to share with you, and hopefully you cooks will create even more with the new additions to this wonderful format we love!
Grass
Roselia – Grass – HP60
Basic Pokémon
Ability: Poison Point
If this Pokémon is your Active Pokémon and is damaged by an opponent’s attack (even if this Pokémon is Knocked Out), the Attacking Pokémon is now Poisoned.
[C] Leaf Step: 10 damage.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Both the Roselia and Roserade in this set have the same ability, but we all know how good the Roserade from Dragons Exalted is; there ain’t no beating that. Still, the argument of “best Roselia” has been argued many times, and with no completely decided conclusion. This is an option that also falls into contention for that spot, being the first modern Roselia to be printed with an Ability. Slightly lackluster in practically every other way, but if you prioritize passive abilities over attacks on evolving Basics, you may find this Roselia to be your cup of tea for your Grass GLC decks moving forward.
Turtwig – Grass – HP80
Basic Pokémon
Ability: Solid Shell
This Pokémon takes 20 less damage from attacks (after applying Weakness and Resistance).
[G][C][C] Leafage: 30 damage.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
This Turtwig is great, and if it wasn’t for another, absolutely bonkers card being printed in this set (Buddy Poffin), this would by far be the best Turtwig for Grass outside of weird Green’s Exploration shenanigans. It’s got 80HP, but its Ability effectively gives it 100 HP. Its 3 retreat cost is also nice, making it Heavy Ball searchable like the rest of the line, adding to the amount of 3+ retreaters that could make Heavy Ball a worthwhile inclusion in Grass Decks. Its attack isn’t nearly as good as Synthesis, but instead its Ability mitigates damage, meaning if you’re stuck in the active for a number of turns taking small hits from your equally-bricked opponent, you’ll be taking much less damage so that your Torterra is as healthy as possible once the time comes for it. Still, Buddy Poffin is such a wild card and will likely leave this Turtwig collecting dust in people’s bulk boxes in favor of the current Synthesis one. Still, if for some reason you’re a Buddy Poffin hater, then this card is phenomenal for Grass Gym Leaders.
Shiftry – Grass – HP150
Stage 2 – Evolves from Nuzleaf
[G] Expelling Tornado: Choose 3 of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. Shuffle all of your opponent’s other Benched Pokémon and all attached cards into their deck.
[C][C] Enerloop: 140 damage. Return 1 Energy from this Pokémon to your hand.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
This card is wild, but arguably wildly bad. Shiftry’s Expelling Tornado attack is a choose-your-own Parallel City, except instead of discarding your opponent’s Pokémon, it shuffles them into the deck. However, it is your attack for turn, does nothing to your opponent’s active, and is on a Stage 2 Pokémon. This would obviously be best combo’d with a gust of some sort like Boss’s Orders or Guzma to put your opponent’s loaded up active onto the Bench to then shuffle away with Expelling Tornado, but being a Stage 2, this combo will likely just be too slow to really impact the state of the game. GLC has only gotten faster, and many wide board set up decks are being tossed aside in favor of more “turbo”, compact variants. Just look at phoenixfire7127’s CBW Season 4 winning list, opting for practically no evolutions and set up outside of a singular draw ability in favor of Big Basics that hit the right numbers. Perhaps Parallel City left the community jaded from getting their boards wiped by a single card, but so long as boards don’t go wide in this format, Shiftry will always feel like it could be a better card. Could be an absolutely WILD tech card in Stage 2 Meganium Box though, if you want to do a little trolling.
Sawsbuck – Grass – HP130
Stage 1 – Evolves from Deerling
Ability: Seasonal Change
Once during your turn, you may search your deck for a Stadium card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.
[G][C][C] Superpowered Horns: 110 damage.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
This card is interesting solely because I don’t know of many other cards that have its Ability, much less in Grass. However, there isn’t much shuffle-to-deck Stadium recycling printed, and I’m pretty sure the ones that have been printed are on Supporter Cards. When I see this card I think about looping an obnoxious Stadium like Parallel City, but Grass usually opts not to run it due to the -20 damage it leaves on the Grass Gym Leader’s side. Still, perhaps in some sort of control deck with a stadium I am currently not thinking of, this card could see play. Stadiums can be some of the most oppressive, one sided cards in this game, so if a control deck can loop the right ones and keep bumping your opponent’s stadiums until it sticks, this card could be vital to that sort of strategy.
Brambleghast – Grass – HP100
Stage 1 – Evolves from Bramblin
Ability: Weed Spirit
For each Prize card your opponent has taken, this Pokémon gets +50 HP.
[G][C][C] Powerful Needles: 80x damage. Flip a coin for each Energy attached to this Pokémon. This attack does 80 damage for each heads.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
Ho-ly Raid Boss! Firstly I’d like to say to all my coin-flip grass nay-sayers: COIN-FLIP GRASS IS A REAL DECK! I REPEAT, COIN-FLIP GRASS IS A REAL AND LEGITIMATE DECK! No but seriously what even is this thing? It synergizes perfectly with RillaSaur and most other “typical” Grass GLC decks, it’s a phenomenal prize offsetter, with a potential 350 HP while your opponent is on their last prize! Add in a Luxurious Cape and Kricketune’s Swelling Tune Ability, and suddenly this monstrosity is flipping way more than just coins and dice at your opponent while sporting a MASSIVE 490HP STAT! … but if you do wanna go all in on coin flip grass, Bellossom from OBF and Maractus from SSH practically do this exact gimmick. Add in Jungle Totem Venusaur and some kind of energy accelerator like Voltage Beat Rillaboom or Spring Bloom Cherrim, and you’ll be flipping plenty of coins to victory.
Rabsca – Grass – HP70
Stage 1 – Evolves from Rellor
Ability: Spherical Shield
Prevent all damage from and effects of attacks done to your Benched Pokémon by attacks from your opponent’s Pokémon.
[G] Psychic: 10+ damage. This attack does 30 more damage for each Energy attached to your opponent’s Active Pokémon.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: None
Retreat: 1
Truthfully I think that all-around, Grass won this set in regards to the amount of stuff they got. Some of it is definitely niche, but there’s plenty of new things to try out for Grass Gym Leaders. One of the things many Grass Gym Leaders are now going to have to do is find space for this Rabsca, who is effectively a reprint of Fighting’s Machoke from Guardians Rising. Combine this with the new Brambleghast, and you can say a big “NO!” to your opponent’s attempts to snipe out a final prize instead of dealing with the Raid Boss at hand, effectively telling your opponent to find their gust for game. Bench Protection is already very powerful, denying one of the swingiest archetypes in this format in the form of spread/snipe decks. Add the ability to deny the effects of attacks, and not even Lost Circle’s Sableye or Psychic’s Damage Counter Spreaders like Mismagius or Gourgeist (who normally bypass typical Bench Barriers) can snipe out prizes. This makes Grass’s tendency to go wide on boardstates much safer, and while I’d argue Grass didn’t necessarily lose matchups into spread decks due to their high HP Pokémon, it will now be easier than ever before to deal with them.
Fire
Centiskorch – Fire – HP140
Stage 1 – Evolves from Sizzlipede
[R] Singe: Your opponent’s Active Pokémon is now Burned.
[R][R] Charring Breath: 180 damage. If your opponent’s Active Pokémon isn’t Burned, this attack does nothing.
Weakness: Water (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
Hitting over the 160~ benchmark is pretty hard for Burned Fire, so this is an interesting addition to the archetype. Cards like Mystical Torch Delphox and your choice of Scorching Scales Volcarona or Flaming Fighter Infernape make the archetype function as a sort of damage modifier, allowing this Centiskorch to always have the opponent’s active Burned, attack for 2 Fire Energy, and deal 180 + 40 (220) or 180 + 60 (240). Unfortunately, the deck usually uses the Centiskorch with the Overheater ability, which forces every coin flip for the Burned Status Condition your opponent does during Pokémon Checkup to be an immediate tails. and it can prove to be very important. Still, I’ve personally been cooking with this copy of Centiskorch and, in theory, it hits some nice numbers.
Magcargo – Fire – HP120
Stage 1 – Evolves from Slugma
Ability: Lava Pools
Whenever your opponent’s Active Pokémon moves to the Bench during their turn, the new Active Pokémon is now Burned.
[R][C][C] Heat Blast: 100 damage.
Weakness: Water (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 4
Another addition to Burned Fire, this lil guy COULD have been a smaller packaged replacement for Delphox. However, it was printed on a Magcargo. If you aren’t aware, Magcargo with the Smooth Over Ability is practically the backbone of any Fire GLC Deck. It drives up the consistency of the type so much, and if it sticks around, it feels like you’re permanently using Roserade’s Le Parfum Ability turn after turn. As such, while this would have been a fun thing to test in Burned Fire, losing the ability to Smooth Over is simply never going to be worth it unless something of that same nature is printed on a different Fire Pokémon down the line.
Water
Feraligatr – Water – HP180
Stage 2 – Evolves from Croconaw
Ability: Torrent Heart
Once during your turn, you may put 5 damage counters on this Pokémon. If you do, this Pokémon’s attacks do 120 more damage to your opponent’s Active Pokémon during this turn.
[W][W] Great Wave: 160 damage. During your next turn, this Pokémon can’t use Great Wave.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
I’m really excited for this guy. Feraligatr’s Ability allows it to hit 280HP, which OHKOs every Pokémon in the format without modifiers, and even KOs many with Luxurious Cape attached. Feraligatr hasn’t really had a good card printed for GLC up until now, and it’s been a shame because the Plunge Croconaw has a phenomenal Ability. Well, we wait no longer, and I think a Wall-Breaking Switching Deck with cards like Swift Raft, Wishful Baton/Exp Share, and Obsidian Flames’ Palafin is sure to be a very fun and very strong package.
Wiglett – Water – HP60
Basic Pokémon
[W] Item Dig: Search your deck for an Item card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.
[W][W] Aquaball: 40 damage. This Pokémon does 20 damage to itself.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Not much to necessarily write home about, but for my Water Control Gym Leaders, this is probably (?) the best Wiglett for the operation. To be fair, there are many Wiglett to choose from. Being able to search an Item, which in turn can lead to many plays, is pretty strong. Especially in a deck that doesn’t care about taking prizes. However, adding cards to the hand off attacks or turn-ending effects has always been questionable, as the format has more hand disruption than ever, with Marnie, N, and Iono being in most decks in some combination (and sometimes all 3!).
Palafin – Water – HP150
Stage 1 – Evolves from Finizen
[W] Vanguard Punch: 130 damage. This Pokémon also does 10 damage to itself for each damage counter on it.
[W][C][C] Double Hit: 90x damage. Flip 2 coins. This attack does 90 damage for each heads.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
I don’t necessarily think this is going to be better than OBF’s Palafin, but it’s definitely an efficient attacker. 150 HP on a Stage 1 is solid, and a 1 Energy 130 damaging attack is super good. As I’m writing this actually, could this guy be a ridiculous abuser of cards such as Luxurious Cape and Cheryl? Its 1 energy attack means that the impact of Cheryl’s energy discard is negligible, and so long as you’re getting KO after KO this can likely earn 2-3 early prizes minimum as long as you get the jump on your opponent. Food for thought, my friends.
Lightning
Pikachu – Lightning – HP70
Basic Pokémon
[L] Random Spark: This attack does 10 damage to 1 of your opponent’s Pokémon. (Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.)
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Raichu – Lightning – HP130
Stage 1 – Evolves from Pikachu
[L][C] Winding Bolt: This attack does 50 damage to each Pokémon with damage counters on it, other than this Pokémon.
[L][C][C] Lightning Ball: 120 damage.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Since they’re the same evolutionary line, I’ll speak about them both in the same section. Firstly, I’m a huge fan of this Pikachu in Lightning Spread decks. Similarly as to why I’ve opted for the Rapid Strike Blitzle for all my Lightning builds, if you’re stuck in the active with one of these evolving basics you should be expecting to lose them at any moment. Instead of flipping coins and praying that my Pokémon gets to stay on the board turn after turn, I much prefer thinking turns ahead and sniping damage around with Blitzle and now this new Pikachu, in hopes of softening up something enough that it’ll take less commitment to KO. For instance, 10 damage isn’t much, but on a 130 HP Basic now suddenly Amazing Rare Raikou can KO it without any modifiers. Similarly, if a Silent Lab is in play, pinging a Mew for 10HP means it can later get KO’d to a Silent Lab + Electivire’s High-Voltage Current. Maybe you don’t value this as much as I do, but I suggest you at least try it and see if it fits your playstyle; I think it’s perfect for this archetype.
Now to the real meat and potatoes: Holy wow this Raichu. Its Winding Bolt attack is effectively Electivire’s High Voltage Current with the only downside being that damage counters have to be on the opposing Pokémon beforehand. However, Lightning has plenty of ways of doing that. Outside of the aforementioned Blitzle and Pikachu shenanigans, Tapu Koko is an incredibly efficient spread attacker with its Flying Flip attack, and similarly Electivire does even more for just 1 more energy and on a Stage 1. With Dynamotors or other acceleration options like Magnetic Circuit Magnezone, Lightning Spread decks never really struggle to have energy on board, meaning they can churn out these attacks left and right. If they aren’t boardwiping, they are definitely crippling your boardstate- perhaps to an even irreversible and game-losing state. I think with how cheap this Raichu’s attack is and the other options Lightning has to assist it, it’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Psychic
Azumarill – Psychic – HP130
Stage 1 – Evolves from Marill
[C] Play Rough: 30+ damage. Flip a coin. If heads, this attack does 30 more damage.
[P][C][C] Power Tackle: 140 damage. During your next turn, this Pokémon can’t attack.
Weakness: Metal (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
I don’t have much to say about this card, but Turbo Garbodor has always loved Double Colorless compatible attackers. 140 damage feels just a tad bit low for a Stage 1, but perhaps it’s good enough to run.
Bronzong – Psychic – HP110
Stage 1 – Evolves from Bronzor
[P] Evolution Jammer: 30 damage. Your opponent can’t play any Pokémon from their hand to evolve their Pokémon during their next turn.
[P][C][C] Super Psy Bolt: 100 damage.
Weakness: Metal (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2Ugly, Nasty, Disgusting, and potentially REALLY GOOD! We already complain plenty about Bell of Silence Chimecho being an absolute board crusher against many decks, but this could be even more wild. Combine this with cards like Wally or the new Salvatore from this set, and you can get this guy off Turn 1 going second. Before your opponent even has a chance to evolve their Pokémon, this Bronzong straight up tells them “No thank you, now eat this 30 damage on a Basic you probably were gonna evolve” turn after turn. Now, I’ll admit this probably does nothing for the current state of the GLC metagame, as Turbo Colorless with its Big Basics is rampant and can just shrug off this attack by not needing to evolve, but perhaps if the proper counter is found and the metagame returns to a more set up, evolutionary format, we can see this Zong be an absolute menace.
Reuniclus – Psychic – HP120
Stage 2 – Evolves from Duosion
[C] Summoning Gate: Look at the top 8 cards of your deck and put any number of Pokémon you find there onto your Bench. Shuffle the other cards into your deck.
[P][C] Brain Shake: 100 damage. Your opponent’s Active Pokémon is now Confused.
Weakness: Darkness (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-30)
Retreat: 2I’m going to preface this point of the article by saying that this is like 99% of the time an absolute gimmick. While Summoning Gate is hypothetically a BONKERS attack, it’s unfortunately on a Stage 2. You’d likely be using the attack to cheat out Stage 2s, so it being on the same curve path as a Stage 2 doesn’t necessarily feel like “cheating them out”. However, it’s gimmicky and relevant enough that I know one of you readers will cook with this monstrosity, and I look forward to seeing it.
Ribombee – Psychic – HP70
Stage 1 – Evolves from Cutiefly
[C] Bzzz-ness Wages: 30 damage. If the Defending Pokémon is Knocked Out during your next turn, take 2 more Prize cards.
Weakness: Metal (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Realistically also bad, but I couldn’t help but think how nuts this could POTENTIALLY be in Dusknoir Spread. Imagine you Boss lock your opponent into something less than optimal, and fire off a Bzzz-ness Wages. They fail to find the switch, and suddenly you have a plethora of options to commit tax fraud. You can move the damage counters on the trapped Pokémon with Dusknoir’s Sinister Hand Ability, netting you a KO. Since it doesn’t read “Knocked Out by damage from an attack”, this will in fact net you 2 extra prize cards. However sometimes you don’t need the Sinister Hand solely. You can fix the math to take even more Prize Cards with a spread attack like Eerie Voice, or you can KO a much larger threat with Gallade or Giratina or whatever typical attackers your deck is running. Obviously, the question becomes about deck space, but compared to the Clefable from 151 that I hyped up forever ago, I think this one could potentially be better? They do similar things, but one has to set up for it while the other (in theory) could be slammed all in a turn.
Iron Valiant – Psychic – HP130
Basic Pokémon (Future)
[P] Calculation: Look at the top 4 cards of your deck and put them back on top of your deck in any order.
[P][P][C] Majesty Sword: 100+ damage. If you played a Future Supporter card from your hand during this turn, this attack does 100 more damage.
Weakness: Metal (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
Not a bad card, and with the potential of more Future Supporters being printed in the, well, Future, this could be a neat little package for Psychic. Hitting 200 as a Basic is very very good, and the attack is also Dimension Valley compatible. Its Calculation attack is also solid if you happen to start it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone for an early Marshadow to disrupt my opponent only to then brick myself in the process. Having started this Iron Valiant, I’d feel much more comfortable doing the early Marshadow, as now I can dig deep to hopefully find some out to this hypothetical bricked hand. Also has decent synergy with the Clairvoyant Sense Xatu from Paradox Rift or Refinement Kirlia, allowing you to stack the deck for your next draws.
Fighting
Relicanth – Fighting – HP100
Basic Pokémon
Ability: Deep in Memories
Each of your Evolved Pokémon can use any attacks from its previous Evolutions. (You still need the necessary Energy to use each attack.)
[F][C] Fin Cutter: 30 damage.
Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Truthfully, having looked through the mass amount of stage 1s and 2s Fighting has, I could only really come up with two fun ways of making this card work in Fighting GLC. Firstly, the Conkeldurr with the Craftmanship Ability. It gets to benefit from its amazing ability, while not having to use its super-expensive attack. However… there isn’t really a Gurdurr that’s been printed that has a good attack to use this package. Most do more damage on a coin flip or do 60 for 1 less Energy than Conkeldurr’s attack for 80 - in which case you’d rather use that to potentially mill good things from their deck. STILL! It means every future Gurdurr has the potential for GREATNESS! YOU JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE!
The other option is definitely more sound, and that's Barrage Medicham. Yoga Kick does nothing for damage on a 2 energy attack, and even with modifiers like Muscle Band, Martial Arts Dojo, or Strong Energy, it’s usually pretty bad. However, there’s a Meditite with the Spirited Headbutt attack, which does 40 damage for only ONE ENERGY! This is perfect, as the stipulation for Spirited Headbutt wouldn’t activate until your next turn, allowing you to unleash 2 Spirited Headbutts on your opponent with Barrage Medicham. With a modifier or 2, and you could very well take multiple KOs if you get this combo off early. Obviously the downside is needing this Relicanth as well as all the aforementioned combo pieces, but I think it’s pretty doable.
Golett – Fighting – HP90
Basic Pokémon
[F] Iron Defense: Flip a coin. If heads, during your opponent’s next turn, prevent all damage done to this Pokémon by attacks.
[C][C][C] Punch: 40 damage.
Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
Nothing much to write here, except that this is probably the best Golett now for Fighting. While I’m not a fan of coin-flip protection attacks, unfortunately this little guy doesn’t have much else going for him with his other copies. No utility like draw or energy acceleration, no Ability that gives it impact as a Basic, so for my Golett and Golurk enjoyers that want to play it in Fighting- they threw you a bone. Albeit a small one, but still a bone.
Rolycoly – Fighting – HP80
Basic Pokémon
[F] Rolling Tackle: 10 damage.
[F][C] Power Gem: 30 damage.
Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
I think this is likely the best Rolycoly for Fighting outside of potential Buddy Poffin lines of play. The main reason for me to say this is the compatibility with Heavy Ball, which decks like Coal Madness play and at times, you’re sort of forced to depend on it. Having more outs to your Rolycoly can be pretty big in that deck if you aren’t finding the pieces for a Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick to cheat out Coalossal. But Buddy Poffin + Evolution TM go brr, so perhaps this doesn’t even see play.
Great Tusk – Fighting – HP140
Basic Pokémon (Ancient)
[C][C] Crust Collapse: Discard the top card of your opponent’s deck. If you played an Ancient Supporter card from your hand during this turn, discard 3 more cards from the top of their deck.
[F][F][C][C] Giant Tusks: 160 damage.
Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3
Here I plead and pray that they give us some Ancient Supporter in the near future that assists in performing a mill strategy in Fighting GLC, otherwise this card’s inclusion is going to make me look like an idiot. Still, keep an eye out and remember this card IF something like that happens, Milling 4 for a Double Colorless is pretty good, and it combined with other tools can get your opponent’s deck looking really thin really quick. I just need that Ancient Supporter announcement, sooner rather than later too…
Drilbur – Fighting – HP70
Basic Pokémon
Ability: Dig About
When you play this Pokémon from your hand onto your Bench during your turn, you may search your deck for up to 3 Basic [F] Energy and discard them. Then, shuffle your deck.
[F][C] Sand Spray: 20 damage.
Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
On-Play effects on Basics are always worth discussing in my opinion. Now, discarding THREE whole Basic Fighting Energy is pretty wild, but thankfully it says “up to”! Now we can discard the energies we want for Coalossal’s Tar Generator Ability to the amount we see fit (which is likely NOT three, but perhaps you know something I don’t). What’s more, I suppose this sort of synergizes with the Eleventh Hour Tackle Excadrill that this guy can evolve into, since you’d be milling yourself closer and closer to the 3 card threshold.
Dark
Ekans – Darkness – HP60
Basic Pokémon
[D] Mixed Poison: Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent’s Active Pokémon is now Confused and Poisoned.
[D][D] Bite: 50 damage.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Arbok – Darkness – HP130
Stage 1 – Evolves from Ekans
[D] Panic Poison: Your opponent’s Active Pokémon is now Burned, Confused, and Poisoned.
[D][D] Darkness Fang: 70 damage.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
Poison Dark has a new additional line to consider when deck building, and this one can be pretty disgusting. 1 energy Poison attacks are pretty typical amongst the archetype, but especially with the Arbok, you also get off a Burned and Confused Status Condition for your troubles. Mix this with the damage-ramping of Poison that the deck revolves around, and you’re doing a lot of damage while simultaneously crippling your opponent’s Active, forcing them to coin-flip in order to attack - risking 30 extra damage. In my attempts to build Poison Dark, I’ve always felt that space for all the Pokémon was the hardest part, but perhaps the Arbok edges above others in contention.
Sableye – Darkness – HP70
Basic Pokémon
[D] Claw Slash: 20 damage.
[C][C] Damage Collector: Move any number of damage counters from your opponent’s Benched Pokémon to their Active Pokémon.
Weakness: Grass (x2)
Resistance: None
Retreat: 1
I’ve been enjoying Dark Spread a lot as of late, and while I don’t think I would trade Excavate Sableye’s consistency for this copy, I have been finding myself in trouble by having both it and Trade Liepard on board and using Weavile’s Rule of Evil attack, sometimes twice, ultimately doing my opponent’s dirty work for them. It’s definitely a double edged sword having that combo together in the deck, and perhaps I test this little guy when he releases as a means to not pressure my board as much.
Metal
Metang – Metal – HP100**
Stage 1 – Evolves from Beldum
Ability: Metal Maker
Once during your turn, you may look at the top 4 cards of your deck. Choose any number of Basic Metal Energy you find there and attach them to your Pokémon in any way you like. Shuffle the other cards and put them on the bottom of your deck.
[M][C][C] Beam: 60 damage.
Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Grass (-30)
Retreat: 2
Finally… salvation. They finally didn’t print a good support ability on a Metal Jirachi or Metal Bronzong. And perhaps, it might even be time to let Bronzong hit the retirement home or at least change professions from linking metal given how good this Metang is! Metang allows you to accelerate any number of Basic Metal Energy on the top 4 cards of your deck. Add this with cards like Mallow or its new Future Reprint Cryptomaniac’s Deciphering, and you’re getting minimum 2 energies that turn! Other cards like Rotom Phone, Cyllene, and even Pokedex synergize well with this combo! Additionally, because this shuffles the rest of the cards to the bottom of the deck, this allows Metal to have a way to cheat out Shieldon with the Armor Fossil Shieldon Item Card! Mallow a Basic Metal Energy and Shieldon to the top of your deck when you have Armor Fossil in hand, and you get to accelerate minimum 1 energy (assuming the shuffle from Mallow doesn’t smile upon you with more energy), shuffle Shieldon to the bottom of your deck, and Armor Fossil it straight to your Bench! Lastly, while I know many don’t believe in Emergency Entry Metagross, I’ve personally played it with many of these top-deck manipulating cards, and it has not only worked very well but is also super fun to play! I cannot wait to see how that deck feels with the newly added Metang, and I’ll hopefully be testing it very soon!
Dragon
Koraidon – Dragon – HP140
Basic Pokémon (Ancient)
[F][C] Primeval Battering: 30x damage. This attack does 30 damage for each of your Ancient Pokémon in play.
[R][F][C] Shred: 130 damage. This attack’s damage isn’t affected by any effects on your opponent’s Active Pokémon.
Weakness: none
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
At least Dragon wasn’t forgotten. Pretty neglected, but not forgotten. Thankfully this Koraidon’s Shred attack uses energy most Dragon decks play (albeit only 1 copy of Fire, but hey that’s what rainbow energies are for), and hits the GLC Magic Number in 130. However, 130 for 3 is really rough for Dragon, and they can usually hit for higher for less albeit with some sort of stipulation. Still, it’s like the best Dragon card we’ve seen in like a year, and personally I enjoy having the option to Shred attackers.
Colorless
Noctowl – Colorless – HP110
Stage 1 – Evolves from Hoothoot
[C][C] Talon Hunt: 70 damage. You may search your deck for up to 2 cards and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 1
This is here because of the Flying Colorless enjoyers, but truth be told it’s a solid card! Double Colorless attacker who does 70 and searches for any 2 cards? Super solid card, albeit a bit slow. Bird Colorless has a ton of interesting options, so perhaps this squawks into some people’s lists!
Dudunsparce – Colorless – HP140
Stage 1 – Evolves from Dunsparce
Ability: Dashing Draw
Once during your turn, you may draw 3 cards. If you do, shuffle this Pokémon and all attached cards into your deck.
[C][C][C] Land Crush: 90 damage.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: None
Retreat: 3
Under most circumstances, I’d say this card is garbage. Until I found the Dunsparce featured below. Strike and Run is a ridiculous set up attack, and allows you to put some Ability Active sitter like Block Snorlax in play as quickly as turn 1! Add the benefit of being able to use the Dunsparce to evolve and provide a deck thin, and I think this could be a very good combo!
Chatot – Colorless – HP70
Basic Pokémon
[C] Acapella: Search your deck for up to 3 Basic Pokémon and put them onto your Bench. Then, shuffle your deck.
[C] Gust: 20 damage.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 1
The Birds Get More! This truly isn’t anything GREAT, but a set up move is great for people who would like to use Chatot! Acapella is phenomenal, very much a Call for Family, and if you’re looking for more set up support in Colorless Birds, this Chatot is for you.
Cinccino – Colorless – HP110
Stage 1 – Evolves from Minccino
[C] Gentle Slap: 30 damage.
[C][C] Special Roll: 70x damage. This attack does 70 damage for each Special Energy card attached to this Pokémon.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Here’s an interesting alternative! This Cinccino is effectively a Hydro Pump attacker for Colorless! Still having good utility in Minccino’s Call for Family set up attack, this Cinccino can hit some pretty nasty numbers really quickly! Though this isn’t usefully compatible with double energies (they’re still only one card, so they only count for 70) - for just 2 energy attachments, this guy can hit for 140 (or 160 with the help of Powerful Colorless) - and an extra attachment will reach all the way to 210-230! Obviously, you’re trading away your option to run the Make Do Cinccino, however if you think you don’t need that additional consistency and instead want some additional firepower, this Cinccino is a great addition!
Skitty – Colorless – HP60
Basic Pokémon
[C] Call for Family: Search your deck for a Basic Pokémon and put it onto your Bench. Then, shuffle your deck.
[C][C] Tackle: 20 damage.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Not much to read here, but Delcatty users get a new optimal Call for Family Skitty! Colorless Control Gym Leaders are the typical users of Delcatty, most notably the Search for Friends one, so now not only can they Search for Friends, but also Call for Family in the same evolutionary line!
Pidove – Colorless – HP50
Basic Pokémon
Ability: Emergency Evolution
Once during your turn, if this Pokémon’s remaining HP is 30 or less, you may search your deck for an Unfezant or Unfezant ex and put it on this Pokémon to evolve it. Then, shuffle your deck.
[C] Gust: 10 damage.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-30)
Retreat: 1
Unfezant – Colorless – HP150
Stage 2 – Evolves from Tranquill
[C][C] Reverse Wind: 70 damage. You may put 2 Energy attached to your opponent’s Active Pokémon into their hand.
[C][C][C] Boundless Power: 180 damage. During your next turn, this Pokémon can’t attack.
Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-30)
Retreat: 0
This evolutionary line is a pretty welcome one, especially to the aforementioned Colorless Birds! For starters, the Pidove cheats its own evolution out with its Emergency Evolution Ability. Partner this Pidove with something like Gapejaw Bog or perhaps Frozen City, and you can comfortably get this Pidove to its 30HP threshold! The Frozen City combo is particularly pretty solid, as you can attach a Double Colorless Energy, hit 30HP, evolve into Unfezant, and then swing for 70 damage all in one turn! The next turn, you can swing for 180! The downside isn’t even particularly bad, as the Unfezant has free retreat and can pivot with a singular switch-effect card pretty efficiently. Not bad for Colorless Birds this set. Not bad.
Trainers & Energy
Buddy Poffin – Trainer
Item
Search your deck for up to 2 Basic Pokémon with 70 HP or less and put them onto your Bench. Then, shuffle your deck.
**You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn.**Here’s the broken card I’ve mentioned in most sections throughout this article. For a format like Gym Leader Challenge, Buddy Poffin is Battle VIP Pass but on steroids. Instead of any 2 Basics on the first turn of the game, you now have the flexibility of any 2 70HP or lower Basics during ANY TURN of the game. This means it isn’t inherently a dead card, it can be useful for setting up important lines you recycled in the mid-late game, as well as still being a stupidly snowbally card early assuming your opponent doesn’t manage to hit any of their set up cards. Add this with the Evolution TM, and suddenly Arven does almost everything you’ve ever wanted as a set up supporter, except you’re now not limited to hitting it on your first turn early. I think this card is very good and could result in some evolutionary decks seeing some more play than they were, however I’m scared about how snowbally this card can become. Just like how Battle VIP Pass feels in Standard, if it becomes a “who hits it first” scenario that could be problematic.
Hand Clippers – Trainer
Item
Both players discard cards in their hand until they both have 5 cards. (Your opponent discards first. Players don’t discard if they have 5 or less cards in their hand.)
You may play as many Item cards as you like during your turn.
This is a very interesting card that I think could be used in some control decks. Discarding till 5 is very akin to Dark’s Wicked Ruler Obstagoon (discards till 4). I believe this is the only form of potentially large hand disruption/discard on an item. Similar cards are Red Card and Reset Stamp, and both have been very strong with other cards like Delinquent, so perhaps this is yet another addition to that disastrous combo that can leave your hands completely unplayable.
Explorer’s Guidance – Trainer
Supporter (Ancient)
Look at the top 6 cards of your deck and put 2 of them into your hand. Discard the other cards.
You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn.
Truthfully this is just a worse Colress’s Experiment, but I mention it because of its dig potential and the fact that it discards. I don’t know if this is necessarily going to take the spot of any card in Pokestop decks that abuse Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick/Archie’s Ace in the Hole, however this card’s deep dig and discarding of the rest can be a nice alternative to those decks in order to get some combo pieces into their hand. However… how much more do you really need outside of Battle Compressor?
Morty’s Conviction – Trainer
Supporter
You can use this card only if you discard another card from your hand.
Draw a card for each of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon.
*You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn.A pseudo Zinnia’s Resolve that in many instances is better than it. Discarding 1 for the potential of 5 feels very good when you’re playing off your hand, compared to discarding 2 for the potential of 6. However, there are plenty of other good draw supporters in this format, so I’m not certain this will see play.*
Cryptomaniac’s Deciphering – Trainer
Supporter (Future)
Search your deck for 2 cards, shuffle your deck, then put those cards on top of it in any order.
You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn.
A Mallow reprint except it also has a Future tag now, perhaps allowing it to be better than Mallow depending on what support Future has in… its future. I don’t know if GLC decks would necessarily opt to run 2 Mallows, however if that’s been something you’ve wanted, then your wish has come true.
At least when it comes to swagging out the GLC deck, this copy will likely be astronomically cheaper than Mallow’s Full Art!
Salvatore – Trainer
Supporter
Search your deck for a Pokémon, except any Pokémon with Abilities, that evolves from 1 of your Pokémon in play and put it on that Pokémon to evolve it. Then, shuffle the deck. (You can use this card on a Pokémon that was put into play when setting up to play or on the turn it was put into play.)
You may play only 1 Supporter card during your turn.
Now this card could potentially be super disgusting. Thankfully, Ability Pokémon can’t be fetched with it, so you don’t get any more consistency for super lockdown decks like Primal Law Dracovish. However! This card makes Stage 1 attacking decks VERY interesting. With Wally as a second copy of this card, slamming strong stage 1 attackers the turn after they’re KO’d is very very possible now. Wally also has the added benefit of potentially helping you get your Ability-based support Pokémon online as well, so you can use your Wally earlier into the game without feeling like you have to hold it for your Stage 1 play. Attackers like Copperajah, Wailord, Palafin, and maybe even the new Brambleghast are great with cards like this, allowing them to have even more presence on the board. The problem always is the same though- deck space.
Dangerous Jungle – Trainer
Stadium
During Pokémon Checkup, put 2 more damage counters on each Poisoned Pokémon (except any [D] Pokémon).
You may play only 1 Stadium card during your turn. Put it next to the Active Spot, and discard it if another Stadium comes into play. A Stadium with the same name can’t be played.
Poison Dark gets a reprint of Virbank which is practically just a buff to itself unless it’s in a type mirror. Some Poison Dark decks I’ve seen were already starting to opt for Brute Bonnet + Ancient Booster Energy as their alternative to Garbodor, sometimes even in addition with Garb to add redundancy. This Stadium is clearly crafted with Brute Bonnet in mind for the Standard format, and while I don’t think that’ll be impactful there, it could very well be impactful in GLC. If nothing else, Virbank is an essential part of Poison Dark, and the copies of the card have gotten pretty expensive over time. Simply substituting Virbank with Dangerous Jungle can save you a couple dollars and keep the same functionality of the deck, and adding it just adds more consistency to your stadium bumps and trying to have either Virbank or Jungle stick.
Full Metal Lab – Trainer
Stadium
[M] Pokémon (both yours and your opponent’s) take 30 less damage from the attacks from the opponent’s Pokémon (after applying Weakness and Resistance).
You may play only 1 Stadium card during your turn. Put it next to the Active Spot, and discard it if another Stadium comes into play. A Stadium with the same name can’t be played.
Stadium number like… 5? Or 6? That Metal wants to play and now has to try and find the deck space for it. Truthfully, as with any Stadium, it suffers from being bumpable during your opponent’s turn, making it not worth anything at all. Compare this to a Metal Goggles, and it is much easier to remove compared to a Tool. However, who’s to say you can’t try and run both? Metal has so many damage mitigation options that your opponent can’t possibly hope to rid them all, and that’s one of Metal’s biggest strengths! Finding the deck space and not bricking yourself in the process will be difficult, but I think this card definitely has a place in GLC!
Mist Energy – Special Energy
As long as this card is attached to a Pokémon, it provides [C] Energy.
Prevent all effects of attacks from your opponent’s Pokémon done to the Pokémon this card is attached to. (Existing effects are not removed. Damage is not an effect.)
Every Special Energy is just a straight buff to Colorless obviously, but outside of the obvious- this card is really good! Splashable in Special Energy builds as a Sableye tech, this card could see some fringe, niche tech play. Water and Psychic are the two types that come to mind with Special Energy Colorless slots in their attacks, and being able to either keep your attacker alive against Sableye, or actually attaching it to one of your support Pokémon in the back as a means of protection both sound like great alternatives for a card like this. Now, annoyingly for Spread players like myself, this means Colorless has yet another “NO-U” card to accompany Unfazed Fat Snorlax.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading my review! While it’s no Paradox Rift, I definitely do think this set brings a lot of interesting alternatives to the Gym Leader Challenge format. From modified reprints that bring about more consistent strategies (however gimmicky they may be), to some really nice additions to certain types and the archetypes within them, this set will be a blast for many a dedicated theorycrafter and deck builder. And that’s what this format is all about in my opinion. Special thanks to Justin Basil and Toine Lay for their translation work as always, as well as to Pokebeach for having a wonderful forum to have all this information consolidated in. A rather obvious thank you to Wheatr and the whole Cardboard Warriors team for having me on to write another article, I really do enjoy making these regardless of how hectic life becomes sometimes. I look forward to making more set reviews and articles as a whole- perhaps if I perform well this weekend at Knoxville I’ll make a write-up of the deck I decided to play with! Until next time!