A new Pokémon TCG Pocket set is here, and if you’re anything like me, you woke up this morning and blew your entire stack of hourglasses on new packs.
But what are the best Pokémon cards in Space-Time Smackdown? Ever since this Pokémon Pocket expansion hit, we’ve been poring over the card list to figure out what new decks are possible. Here are the cards you should cross your fingers and hope for as you tear open those sweet sweet virtual packs.
Dialga Ex
One of the two face cards of the set, Dialga Ex is here to make metal-type decks a reality. Like many of the other best Ex decks, Dialga comes with built-in energy generation.
This lines up a little unusually, however, as unlike Charizard, Mewtwo, and Celebi, in Dialga’s deck the Pokémon you want to be stacking energy on is likely not the Ex but the regular, one trophy monster.
Melmetal has exactly the same attack as Dialga Ex, but KO-ing it is less rewarding for your opponent, while its Hard Coat ability reduces all incoming damage by 20!
But while Melmetal is likely to be your heavy hitter, for this deck to be at all viable, you’re going to need two copies of Dialga Ex. This card also comes with some of the coolest variants in the entire set.
Yanmega Ex
One of the more intriguing Ex cards released in Space-Time Smackdown, Yanmega is a Stage 1 Ex Pokémon whose attack, Air Slash, dishes out 120 damage for only three energy. That’s hyper efficient, and while it discards energy, forcing you to commit all your eggs to one basket if you want to keep using it, what’s really interesting is that the attack uses colorless energy.
That means, a bit like Mew Ex, Yanmega can slot into any deck you like. It’s a bit harder to use than Mew, since you will need to include Yanma as well, but the option is definitely intriguing.
Yanmega Ex could even be great paired with the previous card on this list, since Dialga can load up energy onto any Pokémon type – it isn’t restricted to metal types only.
Cyrus
Just like Mythical Island before it, Space-Time Smackdown has given players some fantastic new supporter cards, which open up creative new strategies.
Cyrus is one of the most impactful of these. This card lets you pick a damaged Pokémon on the bench, and swap it into the Active spot, giving you the perfect opportunity to pick it off.
This will obviously be very powerful in decks that can target the bench, like those running Greninja, or new cards like Palkia Ex. However, what’s more important is it may punish decks with too many Exs. Never again will you be able to rely on retreating a wounded, two-trophy ‘mon to the backline.
While it will sometimes be a dead card, especially early on in a game, I predict Cyrus is going to replace Sabrina in a lot of lists, and give the meta a significant shakeup.
Rocky Helmet
Another trainer card that seems set to become super ubiquitous, Rocky Helmet isn’t hard to get hold of – a two diamond card with no variants at a higher Pokémon Pocket rarity.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t GOATed. Rocky Helmet essentially turns any Pokémon into Druddigon, one of the best tanks in the game right now. Place it on a card that reduces incoming damage like Golem or Mammoswine, and attacking suddenly looks like a bad option. Or you could put it on Druddigon itself to make your opponent have a really bad time.
Palkia Ex
The Space half of Space-Time Smackdown’s Distortion… Duo, Palkia Ex doesn’t have the energy-making tricks of its blue brother, but since it’s a water type, it doesn’t really need it.
What it does have is a dramatically high damage attack, dealing 150 in total, plus 20 more to everything on the bench. That’s probably the highest overall damage attack in Pokémon Pocket right now.
You do lose three energy in the process though, so Palkia’s success is going to be determined by how well it can load up extra energy with Mistys, Vaporeons, and the new Manaphy.
The other question is… does Palkia Ex have what it takes to dethrone Gyarados? Palkia is #basic, which is a big advantage, but its energy hungry attack might be more trouble than its worth. Still, we’re eager to pick it up and try it out.
Lucario
Don’t worry, there are also extremely strong Pokémon outside of Exs. Lucario is one of them. His use is pretty obvious: he gives all your fighting type Pokémon a massive damage boost.
This is going to significantly increase the damage output potential of the traditionally tanky fighting decks. It’ll be particularly great for low-energy attackers like Primeape and Hitmonlee that can immediately start chipping away to make the most of the buff.
Darkrai Ex
A much beloved Pokémon, Darkrai is everyone’s edgy fave. It’s probably also the new Ex that’s been best supported by other new Space-Time Smackdown cards.
Weavile Ex and Spiritomb seem specially made to work in a darkness deck starring Darkrai – a meanspirited list that damages every one of your opponent’s Pokémon and then uses that to press the advantage.
As for Darkrai itself, it has a really cool ability that lets it deal damage while you’re loading it up with energy on the bench. Then, once it’s ready, you can bring it in to deal the killing blow.
Dawn
I’m in two minds about Dawn. I think not every deck will want her, but those that do will really want her. Her ability, which lets you move a single energy from a benched Pokémon to your active Pokémon, will be invaluable in energy intensive decks with attacks that discard energy, ensuring that nothing goes to waste.
Source: Wargamer
