Malamar is an incredibly popular Pokémon, in fact, for a few weeks last year it was maybe the most beloved Pokémon in the world. Well, now Malamar fans can rejoice, because a recent batch of reveals show that Mega Malamar is finally due to make its Pokémon TCG debut in the upcoming Delta Reign expansion.
So, just what does Mega Malamar ex do?[1] Mostly, it punishes your opponent for having lots of Pokémon in play. This sinister 320 hp squid has two attacks. Psychic Marionette (which, contrary to its name, costs two darkness energy cards) deals 70 damage to the opponent’s active Pokémon for every friend it has hanging back on the bench, hitting a maximum of 350 damage when all five slots are full. Then ‘Eerie Wave’, costs three darkness energy and deals 200 damage and confuses the opponent’s active Pokémon.
Against the right deck, Mega Malamar could be promising, as it aggressively punishes opponents running a full bench, but it’s certainly not one of the best Pokémon cards out there. Unfortunately, Psychic Marionette simply hands too much control over its damage potential to the opponent, and once they see Mega Malamar is in play, they can just adopt a more cautious game plan and be more wary about filling up their bench.
The card seems designed to synergize with a new Sableye card, which will also be included in Delta Reign. This Sableye can use its Lure Out attack to force the opponent to play basic Pokémon from the top of their deck onto their bench, but this doesn’t seem like an entirely practical strategy because you’ll need to give up valuable turns luring cards out, and you’re functionally just handing your opponent additional cards.
Are you optimistic about Malamar? Are you one of Malamar’s friends? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
