'Explosive Impact,' Japan's SM8 Set; Raises Questions About Switch Release

jinjitsu

Aspiring Trainer
Member
maybe there is a place in expanded for unown(damage) + Sky field with 8 pokemon on their bench each only needs a about 8-9 damage counter each which sounds achievable
 

The Revolutionaire N

Aspiring Trainer
Member
This will be cool.
I see a sort of night march combo in jumpluff which is so interesting.
Unown is so fun ahhahaha
And Lusamine is crazy guys!
 

MiniMads

The misunderstood Hero of Disasters
Member
Well, this set has a lot to offer. We have that Lusamine Prism Star which could go great with Stinger GX, we have reprints of DCE and Ultra Ball which is always welcome, I really like Tyranitar GX, those Unown are bizzare but someone out there's will probally build a deck around the HAND one. Faba is interesting, and it's good to see the Lost Zone being used beyond the effects of Prism Stars. We finally have Suicune GX, I like the holo Naganadel, and I am happy we are getting a Blacephelon in this set. There are some cars that are pointless, and that can be an issue for us as we are getting this in such a big set with so many other good cards. I hope the pull rates for Lost Thunder will be high because we have a ton of GX, Prism Star, Full Art and Holo cards in this set. But cards like Whitney I don't like, as you don't need it. Just use a Hau, who is in the set anyway. Lost Thunder will certainly be insane. Wonder if they will chuck in that Alolan Marowak GX.
Already made a deck around the MISSING one. :D
 

gema5

Aspiring Trainer
Member
That Tyranitar is really awesome. Arguably the best Stage 2 by itself, but it lacks precious chain combos to work effectively, like Dragonite will do.
If Dark doesn't get more support, it will be an overshadowed card.
Pairs well with the defensive helmet, as TTar doesnt need CB to 2hko most of the meta and wants to stay alive the longest possible.
I'm trying it with Lugia, for it's resistance against Fight and abuse the heavy pressure that lost zone imposes to the opponent.
 

Dark Espeon

Dark Avatar
Member
Like the new set a lot. There are several non-GX attacker that seem to be really good. here are some cards that stood out to me:

Skiploom and Jumpluff:
Lost March is a rather decent attack that can spiral real fast with Skiploom and Lost Mixer. The deck is also able to use Shrine of Punishment and Natu from this set. Feels like a reivial of Night March.

Heracross:
Decent addition to Sceptile decks that also run Lurantis Promo.

Celebi Prism Star:
Dustox loves this card when combined with a decent Basic attacker for Grass decks. Could see this combo as an alternative to Lurantis Promo.

Houndour and Houndoom:
Decent addition to Fire versions of Zoroark GX decks.

Entei:
Great alternate attacker in Magcargo decks.

Blacephalon GX:
Burst GX is a nice attack and Mind Blown combos well with Naganadel from this set. However the deck needs a lot of Basic Fire energy to fuel him which could make this deck a little harder to build.

Suicune GX:
Nice addition to Lapras GX decks with Quagsire but I can not see it being the focus instead of Lapras GX.

Ampharos line:
Nice damage spread attacker that could serve as a one-off in Ampharos GX decks if this card from Dark Order turns out to be decent.

Raikou:
Great non-GX attacker in Zeraora decks combined with Raikou from Shinning Legends and Lost Mixer. With Volkner all you need is a tech Lost Mixer to have a great non-GX attacker for this deck.

Natu:
Combos with the Jumpluff line and in fact consistutes a remake of Night March.

Espeon:
Great addition to Espeon GX decks with Eevee from SM1.

Nihilego:
Great one-off card for Ultra Beast decks and Psychic decks in general.

Naganadel:
Can see this card work well as a tech in Ultra Beast decks or in decks with a focus on Blacephalon GX.

Domphan:
With a built-in Focus Sash and the remaining fighting support in the SM-on format I could see this deck succeed.

Umbreon:
Awesome vengance attacker in Darkness decks with Eevee from SM1.

Tyranitar GX:
Lost out is nice and if we receive energy acceleration for Darkness Pokßemon this card could be decent. Like it a lot more than Incineroar GX.

Scizor:
This could be a nice addition to Scizor Gx combined with Dehelmise if Special Energy is sufficiently popular.

Smeargle:
Perfect Likeness is a great opening attack in set up decks.

Miltank:
This can get out of hand fast with Alolan Ninetales Gx to search out Mo-Mo Milk. Seems like Fairy deck finally have a good attacker.

Lugia GX:
Nice addition to Psychic Malamar decks combined with Shinning Lugia.

Trumbeak:
While the evolution line does not impress me much I could see this card as a four-off in Lost March and disruption decks.

React Hammer:
It is a situational card but it could be decent as a one-off in disruption decks.

Lost Mixer:
A stable card in Lost March decks and a nice one-off tech in Lightning decks that also run the new Raikou and Volkner.

Whitney:
Nice draw supporter in Banette GX deck and Zoroark decks.

Professor Elm's Lecture:
Zoroark decks love this card and I believe that it will also be a stable in stage 2 decks.

Faba:
More versatile version of Xerosic and a great addition to disruption decks.

Lusamine Prism Star:
Great addition to Metal Naganadel and Blacephalon Naganadel decks. I can see both of them benefiting from this card a lot.

Heat Factory:
Stable stadium card in almost any deck that runs Basic Fire Energy
 
Last edited:

BulbasaurusRex

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Lost March could be amazing, but Night March benefitted from a very clean engine that provided consistent set up. You’d spend 10 minutes on your first turn and often be hitting for the necessary damage. I dunno if that can be replicated (yet)
 

Lord Goomy

Got Goomies?
Member
Lost March? Oh no, here we go. And there’s no counter, either. You can’t get Pokémon back from the Lost Zone... our one advantage is that it’s Pokémon, not everything. I think TPCI has Lost it.
PUNNNNNNNNNNN!
 

Plaquesanta

೭੧(❛〜❛✿)੭೨
Member
Your opponent just needs to Guzma and get rid of the damage counters on board though - I have no idea how it can be pulled off :-/

It also seems like a tech-y way to deal with Black Ray in a GX heavy build, like Ho-Oh. One of my favorite plays is to Black Ray into a Baby Lele against a GX filled bench. Maybe it's a bit more viable in expanded, where big basic decks still thrive (sort of).

Either way, a bit too niche, unless there's an attack that does a large amount of damage to your own bench (baby Tyranitar?)
 

Chimecho3000

Aspiring Trainer
Member
So no Sunkern/Sunflora...kinda not surprised. Did they do something to offend Uri Geller or something lol.

Glad to see Girafarig back though.
 

Ribbit899

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Please Pokémon make the full art Faba based off that one scene in the anime where he does the over the top sailor moon transformation with the net catcher. Please do it.
 

CaptZero

Aspiring Trainer
Member
If we get more ways intentionally put stuff into the lost zone Jumpluff could be really good. The only thing is that if you lose your Jumpluff you don't have any way to build your bench back up again, so you really have to win with them outright.
 

WillyCharizard

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Unknow DAMAGE: shrine of punishment and a bunch of bulk gx on bench? But gonna be hard to hit the exact 66 maybe with cure cards like poison, Lana and others

Unknow HAND: This is the most complicated of the three, you could play Hau and Looker and maybe Swamperts but once the opponent play Judge or Illima is over

Unknow MISSING: This is the most easy of the three, just use the Girafararig, the only problem is that when your opponent discover your plan he just would stop playing supports, you can mix with the Slowking that discard directly to Last Zone
 
Top