The new set for thePokémon Trading Card Gameknown asSurging Sparksis certain to quickly shake up the competitive scene. Withnumerous incredibly powerful ex Pokémon, some of whom are imbued with the power of terastalization, along with various useful items and tools, there are many cards that competitive players will surely want to add to their decks.
Surging Sparksis a new EnglishPokémon TCGset comprised ofnumerous cards from multiple Japanese sets, includingParadise DragonaandSupercharge Breaker. It is a set with some truly incredible cards, but only some are good enough to actually be a challenging threat in the competitive scene.
10Lisia’s Appeal
Dealing With Basic Pokémon
Lisia’s Appeal immediately stands out due to it beingreminiscent of another useful supporter card, Boss’s Orders. Similarly, it is able toswitch an opponent’s active Pokémon with one in their bench, though there are some slight differences. Lisia’s Appeal can only swap in Basic Pokémon, and it leaves them inflicted with the Confused status condition.
Confusion is a particularly useful status condition, asit can cause an opponent’s active Pokémon to hurt itselfduring their turn. Considering that numerous ex Pokémon inSurging Sparksare also listed as being Basic Pokémon, Lisia’s Appeal can provide players with a chance to temporarily put a powerful foe out of commission, potentially saving them from an otherwise deadly series of attacks.
9Technical Machine Fluorite
Healing Power With A Cost
With the sheer number ofTera Pokémon that are availablein theSurging Sparksset, it only makes sense that there would be at least one item that would benefit them, and Technical Machine Fluorite fulfills that role. Players can attach this card to their Pokémon and use its attack toheal all damage from all their Tera Pokémon. This ensures that some of their most powerful cards can continue to survive for more turns.
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As useful as this card is, it does have some limitations. Like many of the other technical machine cards,Technical Machine Fluorite can only be used oncebefore it is discarded. Furthermore, the high amount of energy required to use its attack raises the risk of the player’s Pokémon being knocked out before it can be utilized.
8Megaton Blower
One-Time Counter
Megaton blower is avery useful ACE-SPEC cardthatdiscards all of an opponent’s attached tools and special energy cardsfrom their Pokémon. This, in turn, allows players to remove any special effects these cards would have given their opponent’s Pokémon, thereby removing any advantages along with the energy the opponent may need to attack. If the opponent doesn’t have access to any cards that could help them recover what Megaton Blower discarded, then they are left at a considerable disadvantage for many turns.
However, being an ACE-SPEC card means that players areonly allowed to have one copy of Megaton Blowerin their deck. They will need to ensure that they play this card at the right moment to ensure its effectiveness.
7Archaludon Ex
Offense & Defense Combined
Archaludon ex immediately stands out as an immensely powerful tank. Combined with its very high 300 total health points, its attack Metal Defender deals an impressive 220 damage andleaves Archaludon with no weaknessesduring the next turn. This means thatFire-typePokémonTCGcardswill not have an easy time taking it down despite the type advantage that is present.
Its ability Assemble Alloy allows the player toattach two steel energy to any Steel-type Pokémonupon evolving Duraladon into Archaludon during their turn. This means that players have a choice to immediately set up Archaludon’s Metal Defender attack or give another Pokémon in their bench enough energy to prepare for a future turn.
6Milotic ex
Dealing With Tera Pokémon
Milotic ex might not be as strong in terms of attack or defense compared to the other Pokémon in this set, but it still hasmultiple ways to trip up opponentswho aren’t prepared to deal with it. For starters, its ability Sparkling Scales prevents Milotic from taking any damage made by an opponent’s Tera Pokémon. This means thatMilotic ex will be a big hurdlefor any players with decks that primarily utilize Tera Pokémon as the main attackers.
Hypno Splash is also quite an effective move, as it not only deals a decent 160 damage but alsoputs the opponent’s active Pokémon to sleep. This means that the opponent is unable to either attack or retreat, forcing the need to flip a coin to wake the Pokémon up. This, in turn, would allow the player to either continue attacking with Milotic or switch in one of their other benched Pokémon to attack without the threat of retaliation.
5Sylveon Ex
Throwing Off An Opponent
InSurging Sparks, Sylveon Ex’s main purpose is not to be a primary damage dealer, but instead to bea way to weaken and trip up opponentswho are trying to set up devastating attacks. Its first attack, Magical Charm, deals a decent 160 points of damage, while simultaneously decreasing the damage dealt by the defending Pokémon by 100 points, leading to the possibility of making some attacks deal no damage at all.
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Angelite, on the other hand, forces the opponent totake two of their benched Pokémon and shuffle them back into their deck. This is a very useful move as, although it deals no damage, it can potentially remove an opponent’s strongest assets from the field at any time. Combined with the fact that Sylveon ex cannot take any damage while in the bench, these attacks make Sylveon a very useful asset for utilizing effective strategies.
4Flygon Ex
Safety On The Bench
Flygon ex is a very strong Tera Pokémon that is mainly useful for executing strong attacks while utilizing effective strategies. It hasa very impressive 310 health points, meaning it can tank a lot of hits before being knocked out.
The fact that Flygon ex cannot be damaged while on the bench is very important, as its first attack Reversing Storm lets it switch with one of the player’s other benched Pokémon. This means that, on top of being able to execute a hard-hitting 160 damage attack for only a single Fighting-type energy,Flygon canrepeatedly ensure it never gets hurtby returning to the bench after its turn. On top of that, its second attack Sonic Peridot can damage everyex or V Pokémonan opponent has, effectively crippling decks that solely rely on those types of cards.
3Palossand Ex
Damage On The Field & The Bench
Palossand ex might be limited by the high amount of energy it needs for its attacks, but it makes up for it with how useful these attacks are in battle. For starters, its first attack Sand Tomb deals a decent 160 damage while alsopreventing the opponent’s active Pokémon from retreating. This means that the opponent’s active Pokémon cannot be swapped out if it’s in a tight spot, leaving Palossand or any other benched Pokémon able to continue attacking it.
Its second attack Barite Jail is also incredibly useful, especially if anopponent has a lot of benched Pokémonin play. Barite Jail allows a player toplace damage counters on each of their opponent’s benched Pokémonuntil they all have 100 health points remaining. This means that players will be able to whittle down the health of numerous powerful ex cards so that they can be knocked out in one more hit if their opponent has no way to heal the damage.
2Hydreigon Ex
Major Attack Power
Much like Palossand ex,Hydreigon ex is also incredibly usefulin terms of its attack power and ability to create useful strategies to throw off opponents. Its first attack, Crashing Headbutt, deals an incredible200 points of damage for only two energy, meaning that players are able to unleash a very powerful attack very early on. This same attack also discards the top three cards of an opponent’s deck, thereby removing cards that the opponent could need, and bringing them closer to decking-out.
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Although its second attack Obsidian does require four energy to be used, building up to it is absolutely worth it. Obsidian deals a decent 130 points of damage not only to the opponent’s active Pokémon but to two of their benched Pokémon as well. This will provide players with an opportunity topotentially take out three Pokémon in one turn, giving them a massive lead in the middle of the game.
1Alolan Exeggutor Ex
Turning The Tides
Of all the cards in the Surging Sparks set, Alolan Exeggutor ex stands out as the best card toplay in a competitive deck. On top of being unable to be damaged while on the bench,it has multiple incredibly useful attacksthat can help players turn the tides of battle in an instant. Its first attack Tropical Frenzy not only deals a decent 150 damage but also allows players to take any energy in their hand and attach it to their Pokémon however they like, which is incredibly useful if they’ve been collecting a lot of energy.
On top of this, should players end up being able to utilize Alolan Exeggutor’s second attack Swinging Sphene, it can lead to the opponent instantly losing one of their Pokémon with the flip of a coin. Whether the player gets heads or tails, the opponent will have either their Active basic Pokemon or their benched Basic Pokemon knocked out immediately, which can lead to them instantly losing any one of their powerful ex Pokémon. With this incredible attack, it’s clear to see why Alolan Exeggutor ex is one of the biggest threats in the competitivePokémon Trading Card Gamescene.
