Summary
There are several strategies inPokemon TCG Pocketthat may be part of a deck or even its core, and while several of these have been in a good spot for quite some time or made viable more recently, others have never taken off. Some strategies even disappeared entirely, such as with 18-Trainer decks being countered by Oricorio due to its Safeguard ability. Celestial Guardians finally made Stage 2 cards more consistent and powerful thanks to the new Rare Candy card, which allows a basic Pokemon to fully evolve as soon as turn two.Pokemon TCG Pocket’s new Extradimensional Crisis setwas just revealed, and it will focus on Ultra Beasts and other Gen 7 critters, with one card possibly giving one strategy the edge it needs.
Extradimensional Crisis is launching on May 29.
There have been several arguments againstPokemon TCG Pocket’s release schedule since it came out, but it shows no signs of stopping or slowing down anytime soon, with the developer releasing one set per month. Extradimensional Crisis is presumably featuring just a few new cards, following in the footsteps of expansions like Shining Revelry and Triumphant Light, but Ultra Beasts are confirmed to be front and center with several Ex cards and rares revealed in the trailer. Among them, Nihilego seems a great way to finally make Poison work.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Extradminesional Crisis May Finally Make Poison Decks Good
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s meta decksare much more varied now, thanks to Rare Candy, but a lot is bound to change soon when Extradimensional Crisis comes out. Nihilego is a very interesting card because it is a basic Pokemon, meaning players can either start with it in their hand or find it with a Poke Ball, and it has the notable ability called More Poison. This added +10 damage to Poison effects on the opposing active Pokemon, meaning that any Poison deals 20 damage per turn instead of 10 with a Nihilego on the field.
More importantly, there is no mention of this being a one-time effect, meaning that it could be stacked with two copies of Nihilego. This would make each tick of Poison deal 30 damage, which is a rather problematic amount considering it’s passive damage, and one can also attack on top of that. There are several Dark-type Pokemon cards that have added effects with Poison, too, potentially making a fantastic strategy inPokemon TCG PocketClodsire Ex decks- and even on its own. If that wasn’t enough, Nihilego also has a 2-Energy attack that deals 30 damage and inflicts Poison, making it easy to combo with itself.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Tool cardssaw a significant boost with Celestial Guardians, too, as several great ones were released. Among them is Poison Barb, which inflicts Poison on the opposing active Pokemon after it damages the holder, much like Rocky Helmet before it. Since Nihilego is rather fragile, at 70 HP, having it in a deck with bulkier Pokemon and equipping them with Poison Barb means one can potentially never have Nihilego in the active spot and still make it deal an impressive amount of damage.
How Nihilego Can Combo With Other Pokemon TCG Pocket Cards
There are lots of cards that could pair very well with Nihilego, such asWeezing from Genetic Apexor Grafaiai from Shining Revelry, with the former Poisoning the opposing active Pokemon if Weezing is also in the active spot, and the latter Poisoning from anywhere but on a successful coin flip. Cards like Absol or Alolan Muk can further help with Status Conditions and Poison, and the new Naganadel also has a 1-Energy attack for 40 that also Poisons the opposing active Pokemon. Whether Nihilego and Poison will become meta remains to be seen, but this seems like a much more solid strategy than ever before.
