Pokémon TCG Pocket: Best cards in Extradimensional Crisis
Last month's Celestial Guardians expansion brought a massive shift to Pokémon TCG Pocket, with a slew of incredible cards that made the meta faster and more powerful than ever before. Now, with the introduction of the Extradimensional Crisis expansion, a host of new cards have been added to the game, including the interesting new Ultra Beast designation for some cards.
Extradimensional Crisis won’t make huge shifts to the meta like Celestial Guardians did, but it does elevate some decks into a more comfortable spot, maybe even pushing them into meta relevant status, all while offering plenty of support for existing decks. Unlike the last expansion with its Rare Candy, there isn’t an obvious standout here, but there are a lot of comfort cards, and a few drop-in replacements that won’t massively transform a deck, but will make it just a little bit better.
We’ve gone through every card in the set to come up with this list of the best cards added in Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Extradimensional Crisis expansion.
Decidueye
Decidueye is a great card that adds a bit of utility to Grass-type decks, with an attack called Sniping Arrow that lets you deal a whopping 70 damage to any of your opponent’s Pokémon, including cards on the bench. That’s a huge amount of damage to hit on the bench, and it acts as both a fantastic finisher after your opponent retreats and as a disrupter to prevent your opponent from setting up. The low energy cost also means you can have it fully set up in just two turns, thanks in part to Rare Candy, which makes this card significantly more viable.
Tapu Koko ex
Tapu Koko ex is essentially a drop-in replacement for Genetic Apex’s Pikachu ex, capable of setting itself up to deal 90 damage by your second turn. Tapu Koko ex has 10 more HP than its Pikachu counterpart, and deals 20 damage while setting up. It’s a fast-acting, straightforward card in a meta that has gotten increasingly fast and similarly complicated, and there are plenty of Lightning-type Pokémon and support cards to make it shine.
Shiinotic
Shiinotic is a very interesting card. It’s not particularly strong, and it’s got very little HP for a Stage 1 Pokémon, but its special ability Illuminate could help free up room in a deck by eliminating the need for meta staples. Illuminate lets you add one random Pokémon card from your deck to your hand, effectively acting as a more versatile Poké Ball or a Pokémon Communication without a cost. This card is going to be extremely situational, especially since it requires at least two cards in your deck, but under the right circumstances it could enable some very fast and consistent plays.
Nihilego
Poison decks have been on the verge of becoming some of the best meta decks in TCG Pocket for a few expansions now, and Nihilego might just push it over the line. Nihilego has a weak attack that inflicts Poison on the opponent’s active Pokémon, but its real strength is its ability, aptly named More Poison. This doubles the amount of damage dealt by Poison at the end of each turn, and there’s no text on it that suggests it doesn’t stack — though we haven’t had the chance to try it just yet. Dealing 20 (or more) damage each turn doesn’t sound like much, but when that Poison ticks twice by the time your next turn rolls around, it adds up very quickly. Being an ability helps, too, since you never have to put it on the bench or give it any energy to get its effects, leaving you to do the poisoning with better Pokémon in the active spot.
Celesteela
Celesteela is a great fit for any deck that features Ultra Beasts, as its abilityUltra Thrusters lets you swap an Ultra Beast on the bench with an Ultra Beast in the active spot. That’s it, that’s the whole card. Its attack is not worth the energy it costs, and its retreat cost is obnoxiously high, so its only real use is its ability. But it’s a good ability, and it lets you eliminate switching cards like Leaf and X Speed in decks that use Ultra Beasts — plus it’s Colorless, so you can throw it in with anything.
Repel
Oh boy. Every player has seen the wrath of a well-timed Sabrina, and Repel is essentially a more powerful version of that card — with one big caveat. Repel’s text reads almost identically to Sabrina, with the addition of one word, Basic. It lets you swap out your opponent’s active Pokémon – as long as it’s Basic – forcing your opponent to place another Pokémon from the bench into the active spot. So if it works on fewer Pokémon than Sabrina, what makes it more powerful? Well, it’s an Item card, not a Supporter card. Supporter cards are limited to one use per turn — if you use a Sabrina, you can’t then use a Giovanni, a Leaf, an Erika, or a Professor’s Research. Item cards have no such restriction, so Repel is a phenomenal card for the early game, or in meta decks that focus on Basic Pokémon ex cards. It’s also a perfect anti-Oricorio card, a card in a deck that is both deeply annoying and very prevalent in the meta, so it’s well worth running.
Electrical Cord
Electrical Cord is a very interesting card that almost replicates Passimian ex’s special ability. If a Lightning-type Pokémon equipped with it is knocked out by an attack, you can transfer two Lightning energy from that Pokémon to two Pokémon on the bench — one energy each. Interestingly, there’s no requirement that you place these energy on Lightning Pokémon, so a mixed or Colorless Pokémon can benefit from it too. It’s quite a situational card, but in a deck that features, say, a Magneton that generates a lot of energy very quickly, it can definitely have its uses.
Lusamine
Lusamine is the first Supporter card aimed specifically at mounting a comeback. If your opponent has at least one point, earned by knocking out one of your Pokémon, you can attach 2 random Energy from your discard pile to an Ultra Beast either on your bench or in the active spot. If things go south, this is a great opportunity to instantly set up an Ultra Beast that’s been sitting on your bench, letting you make a comeback for the ages in the right scenario.