art by 5ban Graphics
Lets switch things up this week and talk about an awesome card. This is no joke! The card that we are talking about this week has been around since the beginning of the TCG and just keeps on getting printed! You want to know why? That is because it is so good and actually is the best card in the format. The effect is classic and everybody knows what it does. The best part is that nobody sees it coming until it actually happens! It literally just moves you towards victory and pushes your Pokemon forward. This week we are going to feature the best card in any format! Switch!
Switch is a Trainer card that has been printed several times. This card was recently printed in the Roaring Skies as the ninety-first card in the set. Though it has been printed in the following sets: Base Set, Base Set 2, Expedition, Ruby & Sapphire, FireRed & LeafGreen, Delta Species, Dragon Frontiers, Diamond & Pearl, Secret Wonders, Stormfront, HeartGold & SoulSilver, Black & White, Boundaries Crossed, Kalos Starter Set, and Primal Clash. Switch was made an Item card in Japan when it was released in HeartGold & SoulSilver but it wasn’t placed in the Item classification in English until Black & White. When Switch was first printed, it had stated that you may switch one of your Benched Pokemon with your Active Pokemon. During Expedition, it was changed to say switch your Active Pokemon with one of your Benched Pokemon. The wording was once again changed in Ruby & Sapphire to say to switch one of your Active Pokemon with one of your Benched Pokemon. It stayed like this until Black & White where it was changed back to state that you may switch your Active Pokemon with one of your Benched Pokemon. It is this version that is currently being printed on Switch.
The Pros
Switch has been around the game since Base Set and has been reprinted several times since then. It is almost impossible to not have a Switch if you have been collecting the cards at any time. The card is extremely cheap to buy and a playset of the latest reverse halo can be acquire for around five dollars. A few special variants of the card can go pretty high but if you are a beginner player who wants to bling out your deck then getting a reverse halo Switch can be rather easy and affordable.
This card is amazingly useful as it can be used whenever you want. If somebody tries to Lysandre stall you by forcing a high retreat cost Pokemon into the active then Switch is the perfect card to use. All you need to do is just use Switch and move that big Pokemon out of the active position and put your super powered attacker back in the active. That way you can continue your momentum towards victory. It is a because of Switch’s versatility that makes it a powerful card in your deck.
The Cons
Switch is an Item card which means that Item lock can make it a dead card in your hand. Nothing feels worst then a Seismitoad EX using Quaking Punch on your Pokemon and you want to move it out of the active. That is all because the ugly toad is preventing you from using you Switch.
We are also in a format where Float Stone is playable. A lot of people think that Float Stone is a card that can replace Switch but they are wrong. Float Stone is a situational card and a Tool. That means you can attach it to a Pokemon and only useful when the Pokemon that has Float Stone attached is in the active. One of your Pokemon may have recently been knocked out so you send out the Pokemon that has Float Stone attached into the active to act as a pivot while you prepare another Pokemon to attack. The problem with that way of thinking though is that your opponent can just use Lysandre on a Pokemon that doesn’t have Float Stone and stall for time like that. Even worse you may not be able to attach Float Stone to that Pokemon because you are out of them or the Pokemon already has a Tool attached to them. So that Pokemon is now stuck. Though if you have Switch in hand then this whole situation can be avoided. So think twice before you replace all your Switch with Float Stone.
How to Use It
Switch is an amazing card and severally underestimated by majority of players. It can be used to get players out of all kinds of nasty situation just by switching your Active Pokemon with one of your Benched Pokemon.
A Metal deck using Bronzong may actually want to play a few Switch due to the amount of high retreat cost Pokemon that are in the deck. These big guys are constantly being put into the active due to an opponent’s Lysandre in an attempted to stall for time. So if you want to pull a fast one on your opponent then simply use Switch. This will surprise your opponent and put the game back at your own pace as you take a knock out. Your opponent will think twice the next time they consider using Lysandre to stall for time as they will be worrying if you have another Switch in your hand or deck.
If you want to combine Float Stone and Switch then get ready to hear about an awesome combination. There are times when you may have an effect on your active Pokemon. The most common example of this is Dialga EX’s Chrono Wind attack which prevents your active EX Pokemon from attacking if it was hit by it. This effect can be troublesome but it is possible to break out of thanks to Switch and Float Stone. You will need Float Stone attached to one of your Benched Pokemon. If so then simply use Switch to replace your active EX Pokemon with that Pokemon. Then simply freely retreat back to that EX Pokemon and attack. By doing this you remove the effect of Chrono Wind on that Pokemon and able to attack. It is a little known play that is all possible thanks to Switch.
Switch is an underrated card that really needs to see more play. It can really cost you the game if you do not have this card in your deck or pull you out of a horrible situation. This card has been in the format since the beginning and there is a reason why it keeps getting reprinted. Switch is just too powerful and worth playing. So switch things up a bit and play a Switch or two in your deck deck. It will surely be handy.
Good luck in any State Championships you may be playing this weekend!
