art by MAHOU
We are a few weeks away from the release of then new Phantom Forces TCG set which means new deck ideas will be coming. This week we will feature a card that has been around for a long while and has popped up when we least expect. It is quite versatile in how it could be used. It is this trait that makes this card a bit unpredictable when it is place on the bench. This week the feature card will be: Mew EX.
Mew EX was originally release in Dragons Exalted. It was later reprinted with new art in Legendary Treasures. This allows it to be played in the current format. It has 120 HP and a weakness to Psychic Pokemon. It has a single attack called Replace which cost one Psychic energy and allows you to move the energy on your side of the field in any way you want. That is kind of plain but it is Mew EX’s ability that allows it to do some real magic. Mew EX has the ability Versatile which allows it to use any attack of any Pokemon in play, including yours and your opponents. You still need to pay the proper energy cost to use the attack.
Mew EX has been around for a long time and has gotten splashed into some decks because of it’s Versatile ability. It is a pretty versatile Pokemon that can fit into a deck if you need to hit for Psychic weakness. It lived as a Mewtwo EX counter for a bit where you could attach a Double Colorless Energy and use Versatile to copy Mewtwo EX’s X Ball for a quick knock out. It was also used in Empoleon Decks to copy Attack Command to hurt Mewtwo EX and anything else that didn’t want to be attacked by a Psychic Pokemon.
There are a few flaws in Mew EX that keeps it from breaking out. One of the biggest ones is that low HP for an EX Pokemon. It got easily knocked out by Reshiram or Zekrom attacks that do 120 damage. Then there was the introduction of EX Pokemon that can easily hit for more then 120 damage which made Mew EX an easy picking for these Pokemon with Pokemon Catcher before the changing of the wording. It was easily revenge killed by Mewtwo EX thanks to Mew EX’s Psychic weakness. The point is that 120 HP isn’t something you want on a Pokemon that will give your opponent two prizes after they knock it out.
Another problem with Mew EX is that it lives and dies by it’s Versatile ability. Mew EX will most likely rely on attacking with your Pokemon’s attacks and maybe sometime borrow your opponent’s Mewtwo EX thanks to the Colorless energy cost. So if there are no good attacks to use on the field then Mew EX has no business to be attacking. Another thing that kills Mew EX is Garbodor‘s Garbtoxin ability which turns off Mew EX’s ability. That means no more copying the attacks of any Pokemon and just using Replace. This is what you do not want to use Mew EX for.
So why even talk about Mew EX? Maybe one of the reasons why is how much fun it can be when used. Especially in a new set that give you access to M Gengar EX from Phantom Forces which can also copy any attack by using the attack Phantom Gate. Mew EX would still need to have the required two Colorless and Psychic energy cost but it will gain access to any attack on the field. While Versatile requires to have the energy cost of the attack that you are copying, M Gengar EX’s Phantom Gate attack doesn’t require you to have the required energy cost. That means you can use Mew EX’s Versatile ability to copy M Gengar EX’s Phantom Gate to copy Lucario EX‘s Somersault Kick to knock out the active Lucario EX. That is 200 damage (after weakness) which is perfect to knock out Lucario EX. Do you see your opponent setting up a Genesect EX but you have Mew EX all ready to attack? You can use Genesect EX’s Megalo Cannon to do heavy damage. Facing a Plasma Kyurem–Deoxys EX Deck and Kyurem is about to attack using Blizzard Burn? Time to use Blizzard Burn before it can by using Mew EX’s Versatile to copy this attack without the pesky Water energy cost that is required to use the attack. You will need a Muscle Band to knock out Kyurem but it is a fun way to take a knock out. This all sound rather fun thanks to M Gengar EX being a pivot to use all of these attacks.
Even better, Phantom Forces will provide some support for Mew EX thanks to it being a Psychic type Pokemon. There is the stadium Dimensional Valley which makes all Psychic Pokemon attacks cost one less energy. That means Mew EX can use M Gengar EX’s Phantom Gate for only one Psychic and Colorless compare to the two Colorless and one Psychic cost it was before. Does it look like Mew EX is going to be in a bind? Attach a Mystery Energy to get it out of the active and retreat to something that can handle the upcoming trouble.
Things will look up for Mew EX thanks to Phantom Gate. There will be plenty of new tricks that Mew EX can take advantage of thanks to M Gengar EX and the Psychic support that the new set will provide it. So keep an eye out for Mew EX and beware of what it could do.
