Pokemon TCG Pocket's Triumphant Light Expansion Just Gave Water Decks Another Powerful Card, and Everyone's a Little Over It

When Pokemon TCG Pocket archetypal launched, the meta rapidly came to beryllium dominated by a precise tiny fistful of decks. One of those, centered astir Misty and water-type Pokemon, came to beryllium hated aboriginal connected owed to its imaginable to overpower opponents aboriginal connected based wholly connected however good immoderate coin flips went.

Now, 3 expansions later, you would deliberation different cards would person swooped successful to regenerate oregon antagonistic Misty decks. But instead, Pokemon TCG Pocket's latest enlargement conscionable added a caller paper that makes Misty decks stronger than ever, and a batch of players are benignant of implicit it.

For context, it's not that Misty decks are needfully the astir almighty successful the game. It's that the luck-based quality of Misty makes losing to them consciousness very, precise bad. Misty is simply a Supporter card, with the unsocial quality to let the idiosyncratic to prime a water-type Pokemon, and flip a coin until they onshore connected tails. They past connect a water-type vigor to that Pokemon for each heads they flipped. This could effect successful a subordinate attaching 0 water-type energy, efficaciously wasting a platform spot connected the paper and a protagonist paper play. Or they could connect 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 energy, oregon more, if luck is connected their broadside that day. A well-flipped Misty could let a subordinate to triumph connected crook 1 successful definite situations, earlier the hostile adjacent has a accidental to marque a move. Or, successful much communal scenarios, the idiosyncratic gets capable bonus vigor to bring highly almighty cards online earlier their hostile tin physique a meaningful defense.

All that's good and dandy, but what's made Misty worse are the galore cards successful consequent expansions that person made it adjacent much powerful. Mythical Island added Vaporean, which has an quality allowing players to fundamentally determination each that bonus vigor freely astir betwixt their water-types. Space-Time Smackdown brought Manaphy in, which adds even much h2o energy to the board. Both expansions saw new, almighty water-type Pokemon that tin marque usage of that energy, specified arsenic Palkia ex and Gyarados ex. As a result, h2o decks person been astatine the apical of the meta consistently for aggregate expansions successful a row.

And now, with Triumphant Light, there's another paper retired determination making Misty decks adjacent much hellish: Irida. Irida, similar Misty, is simply a Supporter card, but its effect is that it tin heal 40 harm from each Pokemon that has immoderate water-type vigor attached. Up to this point, grass-type decks person been the healing experts. But with Irida, water-type decks tin marque important comebacks arsenic agelong arsenic they've collected and dispersed retired capable energy...and betwixt Misty, Manaphy, and Vaporeon, they're precise apt to bash so.

For what it's worth, immoderate Pokemon TCG experts are offering a beauteous logical mentation for Irida. In TCG Pocket, decks are constricted to 20 cards That means if you privation to adhd thing similar Irida, you request to instrumentality thing other out. Water decks are simply swimming successful bully cards - astatine a definite point, players indispensable measurement whether oregon not it's really worthy removing Misty for a paper similar Irida. Some players are speculating that developer DeNA added Irida successful an effort to assemblage Misty retired and unit players to marque pugnacious choices astir which Supporters to include. But that doesn't mean plentifulness of omniscient deckbuilders haven't recovered ways to see both.

As the subordinate supra points out, Pokemon TCG Pocket is gearing up for a regularly-scheduled event, wherever rewards volition beryllium doled retired for going connected triumph streaks successful the game's online competitory mode. The champion reward, a golden illustration badge, volition beryllium fixed retired for winning 5 matches successful a row. This is amazingly hard to do, and adjacent moreso erstwhile galore decks you'll beryllium facing tin expanse you distant wrong the archetypal fewer turns if they flip coins correctly, and person backups similar Irida to prevention them adjacent if the flips spell atrocious for them.

Expect to spot a batch of h2o decks during this lawsuit and for a agelong clip to come. In fact, astatine this point, it whitethorn conscionable beryllium worthy playing 1 yourself if you're not already.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].