We’ve got a whole host of new GXs coming out in the coming weeks, some of which are already out, and today I’m going to be taking a look at each of the different non-Ultra Beasts that are out in Shining Legends and Crimson Invasion.
Shining Legends
Entei-GX 1*
Unfortunately, Entei-GX is one of the worse GX’s I’m going to talk about today. The card has 180 HP which in comparison to Ho-oh-GX and Turtonator-GX is slightly below par for the regular HP of Basic Fire GXs. This difference in 10 HP may not seem too significant from the outset but 190 HP lives multiple things such as a Choice Banded Drampa-GX or Espeon-GX. Entei’s attacks are also relatively lacklustre overall. 2 for 50 is a weak damage to cost ratio, and 3 for 100 plus Burn isn’t overall much better as neither of these attacks comfortably 2-shot or 1-shot anything respectively without Volcanion-EX’s Steam Up ability. The best part of the card is the GX attack. Brave Burn GX deals 150 damage to one of the opponents benched Pokemon which is a fantastic way of finishing something off that you have damaged in the early turns. The two main Fire decks right now, Volcanion and Ho-oh Salazzle, both aim to take 1 hit KOs for the majority of the game meaning that there will very rarely be a situation where Brave Burn is actually taking a Knock Out. And since the majority of the damage buffs within the game only affect the Opponent’s active Pokemon, there is no real way to improve the numbers from Brave Burn GX overall. Unfortunately, this means that Entei-GX is overall only a 1* card as there are too many other more competitive fire GXs in the format right now.
Raichu-GX 3*
Raichu-GX is often compared to Darkrai-EX as they have exactly the same first attack. This has led to a lot of people saying it is just a worse card overall but actually the card is very different. Raichu also has a fantastic partner in this set in Raikou and this means that the Turbo Dark archetype can be almost completely translated over to the Lightning type. However what Darkrai lacks in pure damage if the spreading energy strategy doesn’t work, Raichu gains in a powerful second attack that can 1-shot most EXs with a Choice Band, doing a baseline 160. Unfortunately, the release of both Guzma and Acerola mean that the GX attack doing 120 and Paralysis isn’t quite as useful in the early game but in combination with a late game N can create a game-winning board state that forces your opponent to have exactly the answers in hand. However, Raichu unfortunately overall isn’t quite powerful enough to become a tier 1 archetype in my opinion. Turbo Dark isn’t doing well as an archetype right now and the Lightning type isn’t particularly relevant as there are no big Lightning weak decks in the format. In top of this, Fighting seems to be gaining some support over the next couple of sets meaning that Raichu will have some difficult competition in the coming months.
Mewtwo-GX 2*
The star of Generation 1, Mewtwo-GX is overall a rather underwhelming card overall. The first attack is a toned down version of Gardevoir-GX’s Infinite Force, doing just 30x the number of energy attached to Mewtwo. This can be useful for early pressure but will quickly become outclassed by other attacks in the game towards the mid-late game. The second attack for 2 Energy also heals 30 HP as well as dealing 60 damage but again is relatively underwhelming. The star of the card is the GX attack, Psystrike GX. This attack is very similar to G Booster from Plasma Blast and does a clean 200 damage whilst going through all effects on the Opponents Pokemon. This means it ignores things like Alolan Ninetales Luminous Barrier ability and other similar effects. In combination with an Elixir style of build, this could be seen as a 1-of in Drampa Garb/Espeon Garb as a late game finisher that can take the last two prizes in the game very easily. However, unless the currently builds of Garbodor decks change to more Max Elixir based, the relevance of Mewtwo-GX will stay limited overall. This does however have one of the best looking secret rares that has ever been produced in my opinion.
Zoroark-GX 5*
Zoroark-GX is a fantastic card and will undoubtedly have an impact on the format as soon as Shining Legends becomes legal. The card is a combination of 3 very playable cards of the past along with huge HP and a relevant non-GX counterpart to pair with it. To begin with, Zoroark-GX has the Trade ability, which is the same as the Diving Draw ability from Empoleon DEX, letting you discard a card from hand in order to draw 2 cards from the deck. This makes the card comparable to Octillery and is a straight upgrade to certain decks over running an Octillery line (such as Alolan Ninetales). Being able to discard dead cards in certain matchups or certain synergy cards (such as Water Energy for Aqua Patch or Darkrai-GX and Dark Energy in Darkrai decks) means that you can initiate some of your combos whilst also gaining card advantage which is huge. The non-GX attack is a better version of Raichu XY’s Circle Circuit which saw a lot of play whilst Skyfield was in standard. And whilst Zoroark also suffers from the loss of Skyfield, Riotous Beating includes the active Pokemon in damage calculation, and hence this pushes the damage up to 120 for a full bench. This not only means this attack 2-shots almost all EXs and GXs in the format, but in combination with Choice Band and Professor Kukui, hits the 170 damage mark which is enough to KO the ever popular Tapu Lele-GX. Finally, the GX attack is similar to Zoroark BW’s Foul Play attack. Trickster GX lets you use one of the opponent’s Pokémon’s attacks for just 2 Darkness energy, including GX attacks. This is a hugely powerful attack as it has so much versatility, and really means the opponent must really be careful about what Pokemon they leave on the board as this attack can take a KO out of nowhere. Zoroark-GX is an incredibly useful support Pokemon, and if the Japanese format is anything to go by, Zoroark as an archetype could definitely come back overall. With a strong non-GX option as well, Zoroark looks like it is set to come back to standard with a bang.
Crimson Invasion
Gyarados-GX 2*
Gyarados-GX has a huge 240 HP which is very high for a Stage 1 right now. Unfortunately, Magikarp still only has 30 HP but in combination with the Evolutions Magikarp and Shining Celebi, the 240HP of Gyarados can be abused by using Flail on a damaged Gyarados for massive damage. Other than this combo the card isn’t too competitive, boasting a first attack for a Water and Double colourless doing 70 damage. This isn’t fantastic but does set up some nice numbers for the second attack Draconic Disaster which does 100 damage for 5 Energy, with an extra 100 damage if you can discard a Stadium from play. With a Choice Band and Stadium in play, this is enough to KO a lot of Pokemon in the format in 1 hit but unfortunately the 5 Energy requirement is incredibly expensive and leaves you incredibly vulnerable to Gardevoir-GX which seems to be sticking around for the most part in the Standard format. Gyarados’s GX attack, Dread Storm GX, discards an energy card from each of your opponent’s Pokemon. This Is a really good attack against any deck that likes to spread energy (such as Xerneas BREAK and Turbo Dark) and can also aid in slowing down the opponent in order to get 5 Energy onto Gyarados-GX. Unfortunately, however I think that Gyarados isn’t quite good enough to make a splash in today’s format as 5 Energy is a huge commitment especially when Gardevoir-GX is still incredibly popular. The best way of running Gyarados-GX is basing it around the aforementioned combo of EVO Magikarp and the new Shining Celebi to deal a huge chunk of damage for a single Water Energy.
Alolan Golem-GX 1*
Alolan Golem-GX unfortunately suffers from the classic “costing a little too much” syndrome. The 250HP it has is huge but unfortunately there isn’t too much to say about the card beyond that. 3 for 80 is overall an underwhelming amount of damage for the cost of the attack, and whilst 4 for 200 is much more efficient damage wise, you have to take 50 damage yourself in the process. These recoil style attacks have never been overly popular and overall are never really worth the damage you take as Golem’s massive 250 HP quickly becomes a much more manageable number when you factor in the recoil. The most interesting part of the card is the GX attack. Heavy Rock GX only deals 100 damage but doesn’t let your opponent play any cards from their hand during the next turn. This is a huge lock attack and is easily the best lock we have ever seen. However, since this is not only a GX attack, but also the fact that it costs 4 Energy, by the time you are able to use this attack your opponent is likely to already have some sort of board state established meaning that they can just announce their attack and effectively not really be affected by the lock from the attack. Unfortunately, this means on the whole Alolan Golem-GX is too slow and underpowered to actually see any competitive play overall.
Alolan Exeggutor-GX 1*
A fan favourite, Alolan Exeggutor receives the GX treatment this set but unfortunately isn’t too competitive. Dragon type is not a good type to be right now with Gardevoir-GX further proving its dominance in the Standard format so to begin with this is a pretty big negative for the card overall. However, unlike some of the other dragons in the format Exeggutor only requires Grass energy to attack. This is a huge bonus in comparison to other Dragon types. The first attack does a 20 damage snipe times the amount of energy attacked to Exeggutor. This is an incredibly versatile attack but since it is only 20x, there needs to be a lot of energy attached for any significant damage to be dealt. Executor’s second attack Dragon Hammer costs 4 energy and deals 120 damage with confusion which again feels like a very large commitment for such a mediocre damage output. However, it is worth noting that with a Choice Band and a tails flip on confusion, the total damage from Dragon Hammer is 180 which will KO a few relevant EXs and GXs within the format. Finally, Tower-go-round GX does 180 damage for again 4 Energy which is much more competitive efficiency wise. You may also completely rearrange the energy on your board after using this attack which is nice for setting up another attacker if Exeggutor is about to be knocked out. However, since this is a GX attack it is unfortunately difficult to really build a deck around Alolan Exeggutor-GX, another card to fall short of the competitive mark.
Silvally-GX 4*
The poster boy of Crimson Invasion, Silvally-GX is without a doubt a fantastic card. Silvally’s prevolution Type:Null boasts an incredibly 110 HP which is a great start for an Evolution GX. Silvally itself has 210 HP which is relatively standard for a Stage 1 GX. Its Ability Gyro Unit give all of your Basic Pokemon in play 0 retreat cost which is huge for a format that has Guzma stall available to it. This means that you can promote almost any Basic Pokemon after your opponent takes a KO without worrying too much about the downsides as long as your abilities are online. Silvally’s non-GX attack Turbo Drive is great energy acceleration, dealing 120 damage for 3 Colourless Energy and letting you attach a basic energy card from the Discard Pile to one of your benched Pokemon. This is great for setting up in the early turns in order to have more attacking options, as well as in the late game guaranteeing you have an attacker to close out the game. Finally, Rebel GX is Silvally’s GX attack which is the same as Lycanroc-GXs GX attack, dealing 50 damage times the number of Pokemon on the Opponents Bench. This is a really strong option and given that it costs the same as the regular attack you can use it at any point in the game with relative ease. In a format where Brigette is still incredibly popular as well, this is really good in the early turns to take a KO before your opponent can fully establish a board. However, what makes Silvally-GX incredibly is the “memory” cards that are being released alongside the set. Currently we gave Psychic and Fighting Memory that will be released in Crimson Invasion, with confirmation of Fire and Lightning Memory in the future. These change Silvally to the respective type that they have on the card which is incredible for being able to cover multiple weaknesses across the format. This gives Silvally-GX the versatility of being able to tech for matchups that it doesn’t have the Memory cards for whilst running relevant Memory cards for the other matchups. Silvally already looks to be a dominant force in standard when paired with Metal attackers to deal with Gardevoir-GX and only gets better with the more Memory cards released.
Overall there doesn’t seem to be too much impact from these GXs but in combination with the Ultra Beasts coming out too (covered in a separate article), there will definitely be some differences within the format when London Internationals comes around! Thanks for taking the time to read about each of these GXs and make sure to check out Omnipoke for even more TCG content each week!
-Jack
