Ultra Prism is the first set of 2018, and kicks off the “Year of Legendary Pokémon”! This year’s sets will each feature a different Pokémon generation of the past, with Ultra Prism focusing on Sinnoh. It is also the first set to feature the new Prism Star cards. Only a single copy of these can be played in each deck, and when it would be discarded it instead goes into the Lost Zone.

Trainers

Mt. Coronet – This card is another metal support card in an entire set dominated by them. Mt. Coronet provides energy recovery, something Dusk Mane Necrozma desperately needs when paired with Magnezone. This stadium seems like a staple in metal, but only if the Magnezone version proves to be more popular than Metagross.

Cynthia – It took eight years, but Pokémon finally reprinted the beloved Professor Oak’s New Theory. Back when it was playable, PONT was a staple in every deck. While Cynthia may not be quite as popular, it will certainly find its way into quite a few decks. It will always draw for six cards, making it more consistent than N. N has value as disruption for your opponent, but Cynthia provides better draw support.

Electric Memory/Fire Memory – Silvally was playable during Crimson Invasion, but wasn’t dominant. With only two memories, it didn’t have enough access to weaknesses to be more that a niche play. Electric Memory isn’t particularly impactful, but Fire Memory has the potential to be hugely impactful. Both Golisopod and Dusk Mane Necrozma have weaknesses to fire, so Fire Memory gives Silvally type advantage over two of the biggest decks in the format.

Super Boost Energy – This card looks incredible at first glance, but seems likely to fall into the same fate as Counter Energy. If it was released last set, Gardevoir would have used it to great success. But now that Dusk Mane Necrozma threatens Gardevoir’s existence, it doesn’t really have a home. All of the main decks attack with either Basics or Stage 1s, making this card entirely useless.

GXs

Glaceon GX – Not only is Glaceon a Pokemon from Sinnoh, this card was also stolen from Generation IV’s Majestic Dawn set. Ability Lock is nothing new to the meta, with Pokémon trying to replace Garbodor before it even rotates out. Unfortunately, Glaceon is weak to Metal and doesn’t shut off Magnezone, so that alone makes it near unplayable as a standalone deck. However, it does not take much for a Water deck such as Ninetales or Empoleon to splash this in, and it can be used to lock out a Tapu Lele on turn one, potentially inhibiting the dream of a Brigette for the opponent. Beyond that, it doesn’t have much use yet.

Leafeon GX – Leafeon really doesn’t do anything special, except for the GX attack. It costs only one Grass energy, and Leafeon has access to the energy evolution Eevee, meaning that the GX attack can be used turn one. For a Golisopod deck, this means the ideal turn one now looks like a Brigette into a Leafeon attack, instantly creating 3-5 Stage ones on the bench. It adds even more consistency to one of the most consistent decks in the format.

Dusk Mane Necrozma GX – This is almost certainly the strongest GX in the set. For four energies, it can one shot anything in the game, and has the support of metal. Between Mt. Coronet, Magnezone, Metagross GX, Dialga GX, Solgaleo Prism Star, and the Frying Pan next set, Dusk Mane Necrozma GX has access to anything it could want. Metal is clearly the type that benefits most from this set, and will shape the meta for at least the next 3 months.

Dawn Wings Necrozma GX – While it isn’t as powerful as its Metal counterpart, this Necrozma brings back the powerful Rush In ability. When Rush In was last seen on Keldeo EX, it was played in most decks with a Float Stone to give everything free retreat. Necrozma’s attacks don’t come anywhere close to Keldeo’s, but Rush In alone is enough to make a card playable. It could easily become a one of in a large portion of the meta.

Dialga GX – The “take another turn” mechanic is insanely powerful, and needs to be locked behind a huge resource barrier. Dialga’s GX attack does just enough damage to one shot a Tapu Lele, and skips the opponent’s next turn. Dialga also is Dragon, giving the Metal decks an attacker that isn’t weak to Fire, even if it only works once. The rest of the card is pretty useless, but the GX attack is strong enough to make it at least a 1 of in Metal decks.

Pokémon

Garchomp/Lucario – This pair was made for each other, with Garchomp hitting hard and Lucario providing support. All it takes for Garchomp to deal 200 damage is that a Cynthia was played that turn, and Lucario can find the cards that make that happen. Setting up both a stage two and a stage one can be difficult, but Lucario’s search effect makes it easy to chain them after one of each is set up. After that, the deck has a similar goal to Empoleon: efficiently trade one prize attackers for two prizes.

Empoleon – Empoleon is the newest Pokémon to deal damage based on benched Pokémon. For two energies, it can hit for up to two hundred damage, which can one hit anything with a Choice Band. It has a huge 160 HP, making it one of the most tanky non-GX attackers. The only problem is getting them out, but a turn one Glaceon has the potential to slow down your opponent enough for an army of Empoleon to come into play. Once set up, it becomes very hard to win the prize trade against one prize attackers with this much HP.

Conclusion

After a relatively disappointing set, Pokémon brings a high level of playability into this one. Five out of the six GX’s have a clear purpose, and there are a few non GX Pokémon that are strong as well. On top of that, Cynthia arrives to take a spot as one of the most powerful Supporters and will likely see play in every deck. This set restores the power level of the Sun and Moon block and will definitely impact the meta.