With a new Pokémon set comes a new metagame, comprised of old standbys and hot new cards that everyone hopes to rip into at prereleases. Though these events tend to glorify high-HP heavy hitting Pokémon-EX, the TCG is about more than just how shiny your cards are. In this article, I will be looking at the top 10 non-EX cards that I will be keeping an eye out for when coming into the Boundaries Crossed (BCR)-Roaring Skies (ROS) format.
But before we jump right into the list, I would like to take a moment 
to look at Wally, a new Supporter card from Roaring Skies. A quick read of the card states that this effect counts as evolution, but there is a catch to the statement. “You can use this card during your first turn or on a Pokémon that was put into play this turn.” The inclusion of this sentence changes Wally from a Supporter version of Evosoda into a beefed up Rare Candy, if played properly. Evolving before you play Wally lets you essentially evolve the same Pokémon twice, and if you are using a Pokémon with the Delta Evolution trait you can evolve into a Stage 2 Pokémon in one turn. Not bad!
While Wally is a card that is entirely dependent on what cards inhabit the format, right out of the gate there are a number of options that scare me on turn 1. Garbodor and Trevenant are two disruptive Stage 1 Pokémon that can lock the opponent out of Items or Abilities as early as turn 1 if you choose to do so, which has not been possible for a long time in the Pokémon TCG. (Also of note is that with this, Seismitoad-EX players can start doing both if they go second, giving them the first attacking turn.)
While Wally’s competitive use may be to lock your opponent down faster than ever, there are a number of tricks that he can perform that boost many of these Pokémon into my Top 10 listing, so keep Wally in mind!
Now onto my top 10 non-EX Pokémon from the new set!
#10. Shuppet 30
Shuppet, the vengeful puppet.
I will admit, I am completely in love with this set’s Banette. The idea of a discarded puppet coming to life as a ghost seeking vengeance is a thrill people seek in haunted houses, and though I was never one to hunt after and train them, ghost types are very intriguing. This Shuppet is interesting to me for its attack: the well named “Bleh”. This is exactly what you will be telling your Special Energy loving opponents as you send up Shuppet to do your dirty work, discarding their precious resources and generally giving them fits of rage. Bonus points if you give them a “nyeh-nyeh” when you announce Bleh!
The main reason to play Shuppet is obviously for its two evolutions that are included in this set, however it is always worth mentioning an interesting, cute, and useful evolving basic. Just imagine Shuppet sticking its tongue out at Seismitoad-EX, as it discards its DCE buying you a turn of items. Adorable!
#9. Jirachi 42
Jirachi is a card that I see having its own gimmick deck and a small amount of play in Metal decks that could use a turn 1 setup attack, but it will likely not see immediate play for its setup capabilities. Its second attack, Doom Desire, might see some immediate play. At the cost of discarding all attached energy, the defending Pokémon will be knocked out at the end of the opponent’s turn.
That would be a crazy effect if it was not avoidable by switching or retreating, which comes to the support that Jirachi might receive in such a deck. Pairing Jirachi with Mew-EX and Dimension Valley lets Doom Desire cost a single Metal energy, which remedies the problem of attaching 2 energy to be discarded next turn on a low-health Pokémon. Cutting off the opponent’s means of retreating with the help of Dragalge and the ever-popular Hypnotoxic Laser to lock the opponent out of the option of retreating can force them to burn Switch cards or preparing to counter status conditions with Keldeo-EX and Float Stones. For those not prepared, Doom Desire could spell doom for their hopes of winning!
#8. Deoxys 33
Deoxys has an interesting attack in Close Encounter, which can be used on the first turn. For one Colorless energy, you can draw 2 extra cards on the first turn of the game. Note that the attack’s cost is Colorless on the Psychic type Deoxys, which opens the door to a free attack via the Dimension Valley Stadium, freeing up your energy attachment for the turn. The attack’s cost being colorless also sets Deoxys up to be included in a variety of decks that could benefit from a few extra cards on the first turn, and it’s attack Overdrive Smash gives it an offensive option after it has served its purpose of netting you a small boost in hand size. 30 Damage on the first strike, then 60 more damage on subsequent attacks means that Deoxys could very well go toe-to-toe with psychic-weak EX Pokémon such as Lucario-EX and Mewtwo-EX in two strikes. While this is not always feasible, having the ability to do some damage after you have gotten a small boost to your hand size is very nice.
#7. Reshiram 63
Reshiram seeks to bring its brightly burning dragon flame to the Pokémon TCG after years of Outraging against everything foolish enough to attempt a two-hit KO. Turboblaze is the ability Reshiram (ROS 63) possesses and it is one that could help Dragon types see more play.
When Reshiram is active, you may attach a fire energy from your hand onto Reshiram in addition to your attachment for the turn. Not bad, considering the new Double Dragon energy is also included in this set. The combination of these two cards gives Dragon type Pokémon a total of 3 energies in one turn, if you can set it all in motion. Hydreigon-EX can help Reshiram flow in and out of the active position with the Dragon Road ability, which reduces the retreat cost of all dragon type Pokémon by 2 Colorless energies, if a stadium is in play. Keep an eye out for any Dragon type that can attack with Fire energy, as Reshiram is ready to help them burn up the competition!
#6. Unfezant 80/81
What? A Stage 2 Pokémon is being listed, without even 
having an ability? The two new Unfezant cards (80/81) make it to #5 for me because of its game-changing second attack, Strong Winds. For 3 energy of any type, you can “Shuffle all cards attached to each player’s Pokémon into that player’s deck,” effectively resetting the entire game state. Wow, what an effect. Everything except for the Pokémon themselves and the Stadium in play are sent back to the deck to be searched out, and more importantly attached all over again. How crazy is that! All energies are removed, Garbotoxin is shut off, and any important tools have to be searched out again. While it sits high on the evolutionary chain, (Stage 2’s are not very easy to just toss into a deck) I can see this attack being played in decks that utilize Mew-EX as a Versatile attacker. Under Dimension Valley, Strong Winds costs one Double Colorless Energy, and comes at little cost to the Mew-EX player, since Mew-EX will need 1 less energy to attack most of the time. But how can you justify playing a Stage 2 Pokémon along with the crazy combo of Dimension Valley, Mew-EX and DCE, just to reset the game? Well, the second Unfezant turns Mew-EX into a truly legendary attacker, and can come into play in one turn in a similar manner to Togekiss, via Wally and Unfezant 80’s nifty Delta Evolution trait. This alternate Unfezant has an attack “Feather Dance” which states: “During your next turn, each of this Pokémon’s attacks does 80 m
ore damage (before applying Weakness and Resistance).”
Now, damage amplifying attacks have never been terribly strong since it leaves your opponent a rather large opportunity to deal with them, however the payoff of +80 damage is insane, paired with bench attacks. Copy Landorus-EX’s Hammerhead attack and suddenly Mew-EX is swinging for 110 on both the active Pokémon AND the benched Pokémon. Scary thought, huh? Now consider adding in something like Spinda (PRC 115) or Kyurem (LTR 43) to use Uproar or Glaciate to hit for 90 or 110 on each of your opponent’s Pokémon, or even paired with something like Darkrai-EX or Genesect-EX to hit insane amounts of damage to the active and bench positions in one turn.
With the large amount of attention being given to both M Rayquaza-EX decks and Shaymin-EX, bench damage (and more specifically) hitting 110 damage are both huge assets to your arsenal and Mew’s ability to attack for 1 Colorless energy less than normal also helps out quite a bit. Unfezant is definitely primed to shine in the right metagame.
#5. Absol 40
Now for the top 5, starting with a blast from the past! Absol-ex from Power Keepers makes a comeback, with a slightly different attack and the removal of that nasty -ex rule. So why is it relevant that an old card gets a reprint? Well, historically strong and effective effects are always worth a second glance. So what makes Absol so good? It isn’t its attack or health, it is its effect.
When you play Absol to the bench, you are given the option to shift up to 30 damage from one of your opponent’s Pokémon to another. 30 is not a lot, is it? Well, let’s look at some popular Pokémon in the current format who have 30 health. Exeggcute (PLF 1), Joltik (PHF 26) and Shedinja from the latest set (ROS 11) all have exactly 30 HP, which makes Absol’s ability deal a clean KO for the cost of benching it. But 
that’s just the tip of the iceberg, Absol has plenty of tricks and disasters in store for its opponents.
In the 2007 World Championships winning deck, Absol-ex was paired with a number of heavy hitters and abilities that dealt spread damage and an attack that doubled up existing damage. Jolteon-ex’s Second Bite attack was used to great effect to clean up high health targets who thought they were safe. Currently we only have three Pokemon with the attack “Second Bite,” Krookodile-EX XY Promo 25, the little-known “Noivern Half Deck” Noivern, and the fearsome Dunsparce XY101. Though Dunsparce might not see the light of day quite yet, keep an eye out for any abilities that can place damage counters, especially if you manage to get your hands on a set of this disaster Pokémon.
#4. Ninjask 10
Ninjask is a very interesting card that seems innocent in a vacuum. 
At the cost of discarding a card from your hand, you are given the ability to discard the top card of your opponent’s deck. In theory you would deck out before your opponent did from this ability, especially if they play heavy draw cards like Professor Juniper/Sycamore or the variety of Bicycle cards we have available. Compounding this problem, we see the Supporter card Lysandre’s Trump Card being a huge thorn in the deck’s win condition, as it would recycle the entire deck, resetting all of your hard work!
This is where two very annoying cards come into play that have already had a margin of success competitively. Can you guess which? Exeggcute and its Stage 1 evolution Exeggutor are primed to abuse Ninjask’s ability to its greatest potential, though it is not without some legwork.
With a deck prep
ared to thin out your opponent’s resources as fast as possible using annoying item cards, Ninjask can easily put in a lot of heavy lifting. Exeggcute’s Propagation ability lets you trigger Ninjask’s ability for free while Exeggcute’s evolution Exeggutor shuts off that pesky Trump Card, which ensures your milling strategy and protects Ninjask or your other bench sitters from any threat of Lysandre. You have an option of playing Shedinja to help take care of Seismitoad-EX’s annoying Item lock (more on Shedinja coming up), and the overall annoyance that has made Exeggutor’s Blockade attack so popular among competitive players.
While you may not always be able to use Wing Buzz, you will definitely be able to lock the game down with Exeggutor and annoying Items like Crushing Hammer and Trick Shovel, which can eventually wear your opponent and their resources down until they run out of time. Be prepared!
#3. Shedinja 11
The other evolution of Nincada comes in at #3 for me, because of its ridiculous second attack. “Hopeless Scream” is what I imagine you will hear from your opponents as you attack them for 150 damage on the first turn of the game.
“But Shedinja only has 30 HP!” You may be telling me; but you are not thinking outside of the shell of a Pokémon that Shedinja is. The damage potential can in fact reach up to 570 if you attach a Muscle Band. How? The magic of Versatile, Mew-EX’s ability.
Hopeless Scream is a deck that I expect will definitely see play, for a number of reasons. The first reason being it’s potential to hit some very important numbers versus some very big threats in the game, for a relatively small investment. By abusing the “negative” downsides of Rainbow Energy and Frozen City (or alternatively Team Magma’s Hideout), you will be capable of placing up to 3 damage counters on your attacking Pokémon in 
one turn, which will power up the attack Hopeless Scream for a whopping 150 damage, without including Muscle Band or your opponent’s energy attachment under that conveniently placed Frozen City stadium; both of which add up to a magic 170. All for a single Rainbow Energy!
If you are unlucky enough to take the second turn, Wally can come to the rescue by giving players the option to evolve Nincada on Turn 1 and start smacking the opposing player’s Pokémon for way too much damage instantly. Though cards like Landorus-EX, Crobat and Darkrai-EX can hit the bench to KO Shedinja with its lowly 30 health, Mr. Mime or a tech Mountain Ring can help to ease that pain, at least against damage from attacks. This combo is one that I see a lot of potential in, especially with Shedinja’s convenient Grass typing which helps it combat the ever-popular Seismitoad. Keep this deck on your radar, or else you may be hopelessly screaming when Mew-EX comes knocking!
#2. Togekiss 46
Togekiss is a Stage 2 Fairy type that has the 
ability Serene Grace, which plays similarly to Ether effect from Plasma Storm. Ether was a card that saw little play because of its heavy combo reliance, and Togekiss’ Ability Serene Grace plays a similar role: heavy risk, very heavy reward. Togekiss soars into the #2 spot on my list because it has so much potential, especially when you are able to fully evolve it in one turn thanks to Wally.
Extra energy attachment has always been a successful strategy, with recent decks such as Blastoise and Emboar dominating the 2013-2014 metagame until the rotation of Tropical Beach and the advent of Seismitoad. What Togekiss offers is acceleration for any type, for the cost of tailoring the deck to fit a full Togekiss line and a few of the new Supporter card Wally. Using Wally, you can turn your Togepi into Togetic on turn 1, and then using Togekiss’ Delta Evolution trait you can evolve from your hand on the same turn to take advantage of its effect immediately. Ways to search out Togekiss include straight luck draw and the ever-popular Ultra Ball, and with the new Shaymin-EX with the Set Up ability to draw into extra cards, playing a non-draw supporter and still hitting important cards is more possible than ever.
Though the ability may not be as consistent as manual attachment, I have faith in its ability to turn a game into your favor immediately. I imagine people trying to fit it into decks that include Yveltal-EX, Mewtwo-EX, Genesect-EX, and other EX cards with heavy attacking costs and few/no means of acceleration such as Primal Groudon-EX
#1. Banette 31
The #1 non-EX card I am looking forward to from the Roaring Skies set is Tool Concealment Banette. I am way too excited for its release, and will be looking to include it into a number of decks that could gain benefits by effectively removing tools from the game. Though it can get shut off by Garbodor’s Garbotoxin Ability, it is a very nice option for leveling the playing field.
Tool Concealment may be my favorite new effect to be added to the game, because it completely shifts how your opponent handles the game, in most cases. If they are relying on Muscle Bands and Spirit Links, they have to make the tough choice to target down Banette or deal with the loss of tools.
Alternatively, it can be used as a defensive measure for some EX Pokémon that are otherwise crippled by Team Flare Tools. Head Ringer can cause a huge loss in momentum and pressure, but the inclusion of Banette in your deck would negate the downsides of the Flare Tool while also rendering your opponent’s tools completely useless for as long as it is alive. Not bad, for a bench sitter.
The last tool of mention that could lead Banette to see a lot of play is the fearsome G-Booster card. While Banette may only have 80 HP, chump change for Genesect’s Megalo Cannon attack, most Genesect decks rely on G-Booster to hit a number of targets such as Safeguard users Suicune and Sigilyph, Pyroar (with Intimidating Mane) and possibly Aegislash-EX with its Mighty Shield. Any deck that relies on these three abilities should play around with a line of Banette, as I can see it greatly helping their defensive strategy while still maintaining an offensive position. Forcing the Genesect-EX player to either waste a turn getting rid of Banette or trying to break through these abilities with other resources is likely well worth the 2 slots that Banette will take from your decklist.
That concludes my first article for Pokémon Crossroads!
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Image Sources: pkmncards.com.
