TCG Jump: Featured Card- Shaymin EX (Roaring Skies)

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

I suppose Uxie was born into a different metagame, one shaped largely by the presence of Level Xes and of no wide-spread Trainer Locks. The former contributed in a huge way because the metagame was really shaped up to focus on evolution decks, at least until SPs were released with Platinum. But even then, Basic Pokemon-focused strategies, from AMU to SP-focused strategies, still required significant infrastructure in the deck to work with, making splashing in four Uxies and all of the tricks that went with it more difficult. With evolution decks obviously, there was just a lot of Pokemon that you had to make room for, and Uxie, while quick, faced serious competition in the form of Claydol (GE) who provided constant card drawing power. Today, on the other hand, decks are built around EXes and those require very little in the way of support to keep hitting, leaving plenty of room on the bench and in the deck to dump Shaymin EXes and recovery cards for them. EXes also don't face any kind of serious counters like SPs did during the 2008-2010 seasons when cards like Machamp (SF), Mightyena (LA), and more provided some form of check. EXes don't face any serious competition to their dominance aside from Night March (my personal deck), but it's still easier to join them than beat them.

The lack of a significant trainer lock like Seismatoad also contributed to keeping Uxie from becoming the omnipresent force that Shaymin EX is today. It was entirely plausible in those days to eschew Pokemon with draw powers in order to focus on what was dubbed "the Ball Engine" of using cards like Quick Ball to search for Pokemon and narrow your deck. I myself used four copies of Poke Drawer + in my state-winning Tangrowth deck. Although the loss of Lysandre's Trump Card has dulled the appeal of Seismatoad EX for the time being, there is still a scar on the metagame left by the impact of a turn one trainer lockdown for several months. Furthermore, the focus of Supporters nowadays has shifted from searching to drawing as well, leaving fewer chances for Trainer cards (Items for you newer folks) to fill the gap.

Ultimately, I do not bemoan Shaymin EX, for it is doing what it is meant to do in today's game environment. But I do mourn the loss of the metagame of my youth, where things were slower and less flashy, where there was a reason why one would use evolved Pokemon as the main attackers in their deck, and when EXes and the ridiculous price tags they bore were nothing more than a bygone relic of the past, replaced first by Level Xes and then by Pokemon Prime. Enjoy Shaymin EX, but do not forget its heritage, and sing the song of Uxie (LA), and do not let its spirit perish from this earth.