Top 10 Rotating Pokemon Cards

Hello everyone and welcome to my second article on Flipside Gaming. This weekend we got to see the 2017 World Championships and had some amazing games on stream! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend this year but after hearing about the points structure and location of next year I am for sure going to work hard for that invite.

However, for now we can put the PRC-BSH format behind us as the final big tournaments have been and gone and now we can go full force towards the rotation which happens not long from now! Today I’m going to be taking a look at the top 10 rotating cards from this rotation and how each of these cards will affect the format overall.

Honourable mentions:

Lysandre: Whilst this card was a staple 1-2 of in all decks, Guzma has just been released and this pretty much means the loss of Lysandre is not a super big deal at all.

Mega Turbo: Mega Turbo was a fantastic boost energy wise for Mega decks, however despite it being a super strong card, Megas seems to be falling out of favour in the new Post-Rotation world.

Teammates: Twins was a huge card back in the day and Teammates has been just as useful throughout its lifetime in standard. There’s no real replacement for teammates currently in the format but this was nowhere near a staple so may not be as missed as some of the other cards rotating.

10. Multiple Ball Search Cards

Pokemon search is always a huge part of the game and we have had Ultra Ball in format for years now. However, every now and again Pokemon release new ball search cards that see play here and there in different decks. Level Ball, Dive Ball and Repeat Ball all rotate out of standard this year which will really hurt the consistency of some decks. Level Ball was a staple in many Non-EX/GX decks and helped set up some of the Stage 1 evolutions of some of the larger Stage 2’s. Dive Ball was a fantastic consistency boost for water type decks and will definitely be missed! Repeat Ball is the most niche out of the three search cards but did see some play particularly in Greninja.

Decks used in: Greninja takes the biggest loss from these cards rotation as it ran copies of potentially all 3 at times. Other decks include Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales and Aquabox.

Alternative options: Alolan Vulpix may be the best way of searching out Pokemon post rotation, along with the obvious Ultra Ball/Brigette that most decks run.

9. Vespiquen

As a one prize attacker, Vespiquen has always been a viable deck in standard. Going for up-trades on two prize Pokemon whilst jamming in various other attackers to control the early game/certain matchups, when this deck got going it was a real force to be reckoned with. Taking down Regional Championships, the deck was definitely intricate and rewarded players with good resource management heavily. Personally I’ve never been a huge fan of Vespiquen on the whole, but there are many players who would swear by the deck and its sheer versatility and non-EX basis made it a staple within the format and meant it could never be underestimated overall.

Decks used in: Vespiquen was an archetype on its own and essentially the whole archetype rotates with the main attacker leaving Standard.

Alternative options: Whilst there are no real decks that have a similar playstyle to Vespiquen left in Standard right now, some other non-EX options include Greninja, Gallade Octillery and potentially even Quad Alolan Ninetales decks.

8. M Rayquaza-EX

Mega Rayquaza-EX came out of the gate incredibly strong, cementing itself within the format very early and has remained relevant all the way through its TCG career. Being able to deal up to 240 damage from turn one in an ideal situation was crazy and often if decks didn’t have an answer to the Mega Ray matchup they may have had to reconsider themselves within a tournament setting overall. Many different cards came out that seemed to counter the deck, inclusing Parallel City and more recently Sudowoodo but through all of this Mega Rayquaza-EX decks still stayed strong and still saw play even at this year’s World Championships. Mega Rayquaza-EX was at heart quite an oppressive deck and whilst it did suffer from its own inconsistency issues, I think ultimately it’s a good thing for this deck to be leaving the format as it did push certain archetypes out of the format overall whilst in Standard.

Decks used in: Again, Mega Rayquaza-EX was an archetype all on its own!

Alternative options: There really aren’t many options for turbo/combo decks right now as the format seems to be slowing down on the whole.

7. Eeveelutions

The Ancient Origins Eeveelutions were incredibly creative and meant that weakness was once again super important within the format. Having the ability to change any of your Stage 1 Pokemon to Fire, Water or Electric types in certain matchups meant that decks became viable due to having great matchups against various different archetypes that they would usually struggle with. Flareon was a good counter to both Metagross-GX decks and the ever popular Decidueye variants, Vaporeon provided an answer to Volcanion, and whilst Yveltal-EX and Mega Rayquaza-EX haven’t seen as much play as they have in the past, Jolteon provided an easy answer to these matchups. The Eeveelutions always have some level of creativity to them and whilst I hope its slightly different in the future, I hope a mechanic like this returns one day to the TCG.

Decks used in: Pretty much any Stage 1 deck that struggled against anything with Fire, Water or Electric weakness would usually find the space to tech in the respective Eeveelution.

Alternative options: Unfortunately, due to how unique the mechanic was, there really isn’t many options for substitutes for these 3 Pokemon. Decks are more likely to have to find cheap basic colourless attackers if they have issues with certain decks in the future.

6. Vileplume

A love it or hate it card, Vileplume has plagued the Standard format for a second time and will finally be leaving us very soon. In combination with Forest of Giant Plants, turn 1 Item-Lock became a popular strategy in combination with other annoying attacks such as Jolteon-EX’s Flash Ray and Giratina-EX’s Chaos Wheel. However, Vileplume really shone with the release of Decidueye-GX in the Sun and Moon expansion. This deck was undoubtedly the best deck in format for 3 months and provided a very oppressive, powerful lock deck. Many people will be very happy to see Vileplume leave the Standard format this September and from what it seems, there won’t be too much Item-Lock in Standard coming up, at least for now!

Decks used in: Vileplume created its own archetypes such as Plumelock, Giratina/Vileplume and DeciPlume.

Alternative options: There aren’t many Item-Locking cards in the format right now, Noivern-GX is one of the only notable ones and with DDE rotating too I don’t believe there is enough support for that to be a viable archetype Post-Rotation.

5. Hex Maniac

Hex Maniac has been such a strong supporter since it was released in the Ancient Origins expansion. Abilities are a huge part of the game, whether they are increasing consistency with Tapu Lele-GX’s Wonder Tag, attaching extra energy with Gardevoir-GX’s Secret Spring or just increasing raw damage with Volcanion-EX’s Steam Up. Hex Maniac would give players a one-turn ability lock for both them and their opponent which could make or break games. Some decks would have to run Hex Maniac specifically to deal with certain matchups such as Volcanion or Greninja. With Hex Maniac leaving the format, Abilities seem to be stronger than ever and decks may need to look for other options to deal with Ability based decks in the future.

Decks used in: Almost all decks ran a copy of this card as it not only helps completely win some matchups, but was also a super disruptive supporter in the early turns of the game.

Alternative options: Alolan Muk, Garbodor and Wobuffett can all be played stull and whilst none of these are as strong as Hex Maniac, they provide at least somewhat some ability lock within the format.

4. Forest of Giant Plants

Forest of Giant Plants gave Grass types a huge boost in power upon release, letting them ignore regular evolution rules and evolve immediately. This seemed relatively well balanced within the format, with Grass types being relatively underpowered and not too strong overall, until Sun and Moon was released. Decidueye-GX boasted a huge 240 HP, versatile GX attack and incredibly strong yet simple ability that meant Forest of Giant Plants could really be abused by a deck. Whilst I personally don’t feel Forest of Giant Plants was too much of an issue for the format, some players see the card as incredibly oppressive and it does indeed restrict the creativity of the Grass types that can be printed in order to not make any incredibly overpowered combos (looking at you Shiftry NXD)!

Decks used in: Pretty much any Grass based evolution deck saw this as a staple 4-of.

Alternative options: There’s nothing really like Forest of Giant Plants left in the format, so Grass decks will have to go back to the Rare Candy/Wally/Evosoda days of old if they still want to play Evolution based cards.

3. Trainers' Mail

Trainers' Mail was often included in the remaining 2-4 slots of a deck if it wanted some extra consistency and already had everything it needed. Looking at the top 4 cards initially seemed relatively weak and unimpactful on the initial release of the card but in combination with Ultra Ball searching for Shaymin-EX and VS Seeker picking up any Supporter card from the Discard Pile, Trainers' Mail soon solidified its place within the format. I really enjoyed having Trainers' Mail in the format and feel the mechanic is strong enough in its effect that we could easily see a reprint of the card at some point in the future!

Decks used in: Trainers' Mail could be played in almost any deck to up the consistency of the deck overall.

Alternative options: If Trainer’s Mail was essential to a deck, increasing the physical Trainer count of specific trainers is the best way to make up for this loss.

2. Shaymin-EX

One of the best draw cards in the game, Shaymin-EX Has been a staple in many decks since its release with Roaring Skies. Decks like Mega Rayquaza and Mega Gardevoir would happily run 4 of the card to help increase both consistency as well as damage, whereas most other decks would run a 1-2 count to be able to keep consistent throughout the early turns and have an extra draw out towards the end of a game. And having an attack that meant it could be removed from the board for just a DCE meant in some games it wasn’t even a liability to paly throughout the game. As Tapu Lele-GX has slowly gained more and more popularity people have begun dropping the Shaymin-EX count in their decks naturally as it can be somewhat of a liability, meaning some people will perhaps not miss Shaymin-EX much at all but its overall effect on the format means turbo decks may have to focus on a different way of speeding through their early turns.

Decks used in: Almost everything, with Mega Rayquaza and Mega Gardevoir often playing the full 4 copies of the card.

Alternative options: Whilst Tapu Lele-GX isn’t a completely perfect substitution, Wonder Tag will increase the consistency of decks and will likely go up in counts within decks. Other support Pokemon such as Octillery and Oranguru may also see more play in the absence of Shaymin-EX.

1. VS Seeker

As if it weren’t obvious when this list was created, VS Seeker is definitely the biggest loss of this rotation. For a long while VS Seeker was a staple 4 of in pretty much every deck, giving players the option to not only less supporters in general but run many 1-of supporters too to use later on in the game whenever they had access to VS. As Garbodor slowly took over the format people began dropping VS Seeker counts in their lists, but that doesn’t mean the card isn’t insanely powerful and hasn’t left its mark on the meta. Whether you love or hate the card, VS Seeker will definitely change how decks are built and for sure will slow down the format and bring back true resource management.

Decks used in: Pretty much every deck other than Vileplume varients!

Alternative options: Increasing the physical supporter and Tapu Lele-GX count will likely be the way people adapt to a VS Seeker-less meta.

This rotation seems super significant and these 10 cards will leave a huge impact on the game! Thank you for reading and let me know if you guys think there is anything I missed out regarding the biggest cards we lose this rotation!

- Jack

Check out Jack's Youtube channel, Omnipoke!