Summary
It has been just one week since the release of the new Extradimensional Crisis expansion forPokemon TCG Pocket, but the game has already changed immensely in terms of which decks are viable or even meta.Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Darktina deckremains great across the board despite all the possible counters to it released over time, but it does have a horrible matchup against the new Buzzwole Ex and Pheromosa deck, for example. While Giratina Ex will most likely remain a meta card for quite some time due to its ability to make turn one count in terms of Energy, there is another card that came before it that still reigns supreme.
Some of the best meta decks inPokemon TCG Pocketnow feature some form of “hand control,” that is, cards like Mars and Red Card to disrupt the opponent’s strategy by making them shuffle their hand into the deck, possibly drawing fewer cards than they had before. Among the top decks in the format is currently one centered around Silvally, which attacks for 100 damage if a Supporter card was played that turn. One of the elements that makes this deck so consistent and powerful, though, comes from the Space-Time Smackdown set, and that is Rampardos.
How Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Silvally/Rampardos Deck Rose to The Top of The Meta
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Rampardosis likely to remain one of the single best cards in the game ever, and for good reason. It’s a Stage 2 Pokemon, which made it less consistent in the past, but with the addition of Rare Candy in Celestial Guardians, it rose to prominence once again and is bound to remain in the meta for a long time. This is because Rampardos has 150 HP as a single-point card, a Retreat Cost of two, and more importantly, it can attack for just one Fighting Energy and deal a whopping 130 damage.
Rampardos' Cons Are Minimal Compared to the Pros
There is a drawback to Rampardos' Head Smash attack, as it deals 50 damage to itself in recoil if it knocks out the opposing Pokemon with it, but it’s arguably minimal compared to the effectiveness of the card. There are no attacks in the game that can deal this amount of damage for just one Energy, and given that Rampardos is not anEx card inPokemon TCG Pocket, the recoil damage is both small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things because it can attack once or twice before it’s knocked out. Another Rampardos or a different card can then carry the game, and the Energy investment is minimal, too.
Why Rampardos is Unbalanced in Pokemon TCG Pocket
For example, in similar conditions and withoutPokemon Tools like Giant Capeor Rocky Helmet, a Rampardos will almost always be able to KO an opposing Giratina Ex, but the opposite is not assured. Since Rampardos only takes recoil damage if it KOs an opposing Pokemon, it can attack twice to deal lethal damage to Giratina Ex if both are at full HP, whereasPokemon TCG Pocket’s Giratina Ex takes 20 recoil damage on every attack, taking it to exactly 130 HP and making it vulnerable to Head Smash.
Since not many cards can achieve 150 damage in a single hit, even when buffed withPokemon TCG Pocket’s Supporter card Giovanni, Rampardos is most likely going to attack at least once before it’s defeated, and with any number of 130-damage hits equal to or above two, it’s simply hard to beat with how little it can take to get this card online. Between Poke Ball, Pokemon Communication, Professor’s Research, Rare Candy, and other tools, a Stage 2 card is not too hard to get on the battlefield, and then it only needs one Energy to attack. Rampardos is OP and arguably one of the most unbalanced cards in the game, to the point that future cards may not be like it anymore.
