A newPokémon Trading Card Gamecard is making waves in Japan, despite it featuring one of the weakest Pokémon in the franchise. Earlier this month, the Pokémon TCG releasedTerastal Festival, a new subset focused mainly on Eevee and its evolved forms. The set won’t be released internationally until next month, but Japanese players are already trying out new builds, with one card emerging as an unexpected favorite that’s being used in over half of winning decks.
According toLimitless TCG, Budew fromTerastal Festivalhas emerged as a surprise favorite in Japanese tournaments. While full usage stats aren’t available, the card has frequently appeared in Top 16 deck lists in various Japanese City League Tournaments. According to Limitless TCG, the set has appeared in over 50% of decks placing in the Top 16 of Japanese City League Tournamentsover the past three weeks. This may be a small sample size, but it speaks to the versatility of Budew and its usefulness in almost every single deck.
Why Budew Is Dominating Pokémon TCG Tournaments
Budew Can Stop An Opponent’s Tempo In Its Tracks
On its surface, Budew doesn’t appear to be a particularly powerful card. Budew only has 30 HP and its Itchy Pollen attack only deals 10 damage. However, Itchy Pollen has an extremely powerful ability that prevents Budew’s opponent from using any Item cards on the following turn. Because Itchy Pollen doesn’t require any Energy to use,Budew can be used in any deckto stymie an opponent from using Items like Rare Candy to set up their plays. Budew also doesn’t have a retreat cost, so players can swap Budew out the following turn.
Budew has only appeared onthreePokémoncardsbecause it’s a Baby Pokémon. Although Baby Pokémon haven’t had a real spot in thePokémon TCGtraditionally, recent sets have provided them with a niche thanks to their Energy-less attack. And while Budew can be knocked out easily because it only has 30 HP, some dominant decks have proven to not have a quick answer against the card. The result is a low-cost card that’s too valuable not to have in many decks.
Our Take: Budew Has Shaken Up The Pokémon TCG
Expect To See Budew In A Ton Of Decks
For weeks,Pokémon Trading Card Gameplayers have talked about Budew’s assumed influence on the game. The card will likely shift deck builds across the game,with players looking to replace Item cards with Supporter cards and Pokémon cards with abilities whenever available.
In addition, expect decks that can quickly wipe out Budew (like decks with Dragapult ex, Dusknoir, or Munkidori) to rise in popularity as they can quickly wipe out Budew before it can do too much damage. One question is whether Budew will become too dominant in thePokémon TCG,or if the card is destined to just be a momentary fad.
