Summary
The Extradimensional Crisis expansionforPokemon Trading Card Game Pocketbrought tons of interesting cards that alter the meta of the game considerably. With the addition ofUltra Beaststo the gameplay, trainers might need to rethink several strategies and adapt to sudden shifts that force them to play more aggressively, to prevent losing the pace, or getting their carefully planned plays disrupted by some of the abilities included in this expansion.
For those interested in knowing which of theExtradimensional Crisiscards are worth keeping, here is a ranking of the best cards in this expansion, which includes the best strategies to put them into play, and powerful synergies that can draw out their maximum utility in every match.
1Shiinotic
The Perfect Draw Engine Card
The best card in thePokemon TCG PocketExtradimensional Crisis expansion is, surprisingly, one of the simplest but most effective of them all: Shiinotic. Shiinotic is a Psychic-type Stage 1 card that evolves from Morelull, a basic Grass-type card, but the more interesting feature of this card is its ability (Illumination), which allows it to draw a random Pokemon from your deck into your hand. Ans, since it doesn’t need either energy or being in the Active spot to use this ability, it becomes quite useful if players know how to set up a Draw Engine.
Combined with Solgaleo Ex and Klefki, it becomes a powerful tool that will accelerate any play even before the rivals can put their decks into motion. Adding Poke Ball and Professor’s Research (Oak) to the deck will outpace any other decks, and this combination is dominating the competitive meta. So, yes, Shiinotic has become nearly essential for any meta decks in the game, and players should aim to get this card fast to win tons of matches.
2Silvally
Simple And Effective, Cheap Attack Powered Up By Supporter Cards
Silvally is a Stage 1 Pokemon that evolves from Type-Null, and it is a huge addition to thePokemon TCG Pocketmeta. Its main ability is powered up each time players use a supporter card in the same turn of the attack, so, for example, they can use Sabrinato force weaker cards into the Active spot, and then execute them with this brutal attack that causes 50 extra damage for a total of 100 Damage.
Thanks to its Brave Buddies attack, Silvally can synergize perfectly with Gladion, a supporter card that draws a Type-Null or Sivally from the deck into the player’s hand. It can also be boosted by Red, making it cause up to 120 Damage to Ex-type cards, a strategy that has been gaining tons of strength in the competitive meta. In other words, Silvally is a top-notch addition for any deck, since it uses Colorless energy, and will draw out maximum utility on each turn.
3Nihilego
Empowers Poison And Breaks The Meta
Nihilego is one of the most powerful cards in this Extradimensional Crisis expansion set, with the ability to empower the poisoned status to cause 20 damage per tick instead of 10. Similar to the Toxic move from Toxicroack (Triumphant Light), Nihilego’s ability ‘More Poison’ will act independently of this card being in the Active spot or the bench. That means that players can Combine it with Poison Dart, Clodsire Ex, and even Grafaiai for a monstrous amount of DoT that will drive any opponent mad.
Nihilego is a basic Dark card, with only 70 HP and the New Wave attack that uses 2 energy, causes 30 damage, and poisons the opponent. So, players can have 2 Nihilego in their decks instead of various combinations of Basic and Stage 1 Pokemon cards that would create the same synergies. This makes it extremely useful in the meta, and it is a top pick for ranked matches, so ideally, players should learn to counter empowered Poison with cards like Pokemon Center Lady (Shining Revelry) or Big Malasada.
4Guzzlord Ex
Like A Team Rocket Grunt But Better
Guzzlord Ex is one of the top cards of this expansion, with a huge chunk of HP (170) at the cost of an enormous retreat cost (that can be fixed with Celesteela’s ability). It comes with two attacks: Grindcore and Tyrannical Hole, with the first being the main attraction of the card. Each use of Grindcore (empowered by 2 colorless energies) will cause a similar effect to that of Team Rocket Grunt cards, tossing coins and discarding energy from the opponent until a tails drop and ruins the fun.
This card is extremely useful for various reasons, but mainly due to its powerful synergies with other Extradimensional Crysis and Celestial Guardians cards, which turn it into a pillar to win most games if used properly. Thanks to it being a basic card, it can drop into the field and be readied up faster than other cards, then with only 2 energies, it can start chipping away at the opponent’s Pokemon energy, ruining their strategy. For players adding Guzzlord Ex into their Dark-type deck, using Tyrannical Hole is also a possibility since it requires 3 Dark and 1 Colorless Energy to work. It’s a simple and effective card, but players should be aware of its enormous retreat cost (4 energies), which turns it into a high-risk, high-reward card.
5Celesteela
Its Ability Is Absolutely Broken
With the arrival of Ultra Beasts toPokemon TCG Pocket, Celesteela comes into play, offering a simple but effective Ability that ensures cards like Guzzlord Ex, Buzzwhole Ex, and Xurkitree have a free switch-out move once per turn. Thanks to Celesteela’s Ultra Thrusters ability, players can set up their plays without worrying about the retreat cost in case things turn a little bit heavy for their other Ultra Beast cards.
Pairing it with Lusamine, players can regain advantage even if their strategy has been overturned. Celesteela’s Moonbathon attack is not as useful as it seems because it requires 3 colorless energy and only works 50% of the time, since it has that infamous ‘flip-the-coin-to-work’ condition. Still, when the attack hits, it will cause 100 damage, which is quite a lot for a 3-energy attack, though Celesteela’s base HP is 120, and its disadvantage against Electric-type attacks is something to consider since Zeraora and Tapu Koko Exare also part of the meta.
6Decidueye
The Best Aspect Of Decidueye Ex Without The Unnecessary Risk
The Decidueye card that comes with the Extradimensional Crisis Expansion (EC) set offers one of the best abilities from its Ex version from Celestial Guardians, without risking losing 2 points when the card goes down. Sniping Arrow is similar to Pierce the Pain, both require 2 energy to be used, but Decidueye’s Ex causes 100 damage, and Decidueye (EC) causes only 70 damage and requires two Grass Energy.
Both attacks are ‘select-target’ type that allows players to attack benched Pokemon, although Decidueye from Extradimensional Crisis is not an Ex card, and its risk is less than its predecessor card from the Celestial Guardians Expansion. Combined with cards like Leafeon Ex, and even Shiinotic (EC), it can become quite powerful as a pivotal mid-game card. Kartana is also a great companion for Decidueye in most Grass decks, since it’s similar to Farfetch’d in both power and utility, and a nice opener to keep the opponents entertained while players prepare their Decidueye strategies.
7Tapu Koko Ex
Lethal In The Right Hands
Tapu Koko Ex is a high-risk/high-reward Electric-type card that benefits greatly from the presence of Zeraora, Pachirisu, and the new item card Electrical Cord, which allows players to execute a legacy strategy to power up their benched Pokemon even when the one in the active spot falls. This synergizes withTapu Koko Ex’s already broken Plasma Hurricane, which allows players to attack and draw energy, priming the card for its second move, Mach Bolt, in only 2 turns.
Tapu Koko Ex is a fast-attacking card, with a low retreat cost (1 energy) and a moderate amount of HP for an Ex card (130) that resists most non-effective attacks from Stage 2 and other similar cards. It’s a decent addition to thePokemon TCG Pocketarray of meta-breaking cards, that, in the hands of a skilled Electric-type player, can cause tons of damage faster than the time it takes for rivals to come up with a decent counter strategy.
8Repel
This legendary anti-Zubat item has arrived inPokemon Trading Card Game Pocketto cause a severe nerve crisis on rivals, and it brings lots of fun for disruptive players who enjoy messing with their rivals' carefully prepared strategies. Repel forces enemy players to switch out their active Pokemon with one of their benched Pokemon, ruining their tempo, and forcing them to rethink their strategy.
Combined with cards like Hondour (Triumphant Light) it will force the rival to stick with their second-best option in the Active spot, making them lose rounds, points, and basically disrupting their ensemble. There are tons of good combinations to make opponents squirm in agony, and the Supporter Sabrina card is one of the best choices to empower this vicious stall strategy.
9Zeraora
Can Ready-Up An Attack Faster Than Other Basic Cards
Zeraora from Extradimensional Crisis comes with a unique ability called Thunderclap Flash, which allows this basic Pokemon to become ready for battle in just two turns, unlocking its Lightning Claw attack, which causes good damage (50), and is also key in the Tapu Koko Ex/Zeraora energy legacy strategy.Players are combining the Electrical CordItem card with Zeraora’s and Tapu Koko Ex’s unique abilities to create a fast-hitting strategy that will ensure victory in a flash.
The only downside of Zeraora (EC) is that it is a rare pull, but thanks to the Wonder Pick feature ofPokemon Trading Card Game Pocket, players will eventually get their hands on this useful Electric-type Pokemon card.
10Claydol
No More Pesky Healing Decks
Claydol (EC) comes with a new type of ability that causes Heal negation for as long as this Pokemon remains in either the Active Spot, or the Bench of any player. It is a tremendously useful card for aggressive players who enjoy high-risk/high-reward strategies with no healing support or item cards on their decks.
On the other hand, it becomes the worst possible nightmare for Lilia, Erika, Irida users, especially the last one, since it has become the key component of one of the most broken sets that combines Druddigon, Dragonite, and the aforementioned Supporter Card to dominate ranked plays. So, Claydol is here to stay; now players will have to find a way to counter it, though the new Decidueye card seems like a good option, since it can target Claydol benched cards. Wugrtio Ex and Garchomp Ex are also decent options to break out of Claydol’s heal negation ability.
