The XY TCG set has given players many new things to try out from new types, abilities and game mechanics. One of the newest additions was Mega Pokemon. The idea behind this mechanic was to give a mega boost to any deck that they are in by giving Pokemon EX an evolution with a powerful attack. Because of this, we are going to be taking a look at the famous Grass starter from Generation 1 that has received mega growth in Generation 6, M Venusaur EX.
M Venusaur EX is one of the first Mega Evolution Pokemon to be introduced to the TCG. It has a massive 230 HP which makes this the highest HP Pokemon within the game without any additional effects. When you evolve M Venusaur EX from Venusaur EX then you turn will automatically end . Once on the field and fully loaded with energy, M Venusaur EX can cause massive damage with Crisis Vine. This attack does 120 damage and has the additional effect of poisoning and paralyzing the opponent’s active Pokemon.
Mega Pokemon are proving to have extreme attacks and M Venusaur EX is proof of that with Crisis Vine attack. There are not many attacks that provide dual status conditions and it is even rarer to have ones that deals massive damage. If you have Virbank City Gym on the field then Crisis Vine will do a total of 150 damage by the time your opponent draws their next card. Then to make matters worst, they can’t normally retreat their Pokemon because of being paralyzed. If your opponent isn’t prepared then damage can rack up pretty quickly and will knock out any Pokemon with 170 HP or less before your next turn.
Not everything is rosy for M Venusaur EX though. One of the major downsides to using this card is your turn coming to an end upon Mega Evolving from Venusaur EX. That could give your opponent the chance to take some prizes by either knocking out your current active Pokemon or to use Pokemon Catcher to knock out M Venusaur EX before it has a chance to cause some damage. There may not be many Pokemon who can knock out a Mega Pokemon in one hit but it isn’t good to take damage before you even have the chance to attack. Another downside is the massive energy cost to use Crisis Vine. It takes three Grass and one Colorless to use this attack. The worst part is that the cost isn’t the same compare to Venusaur EX who can use Jungle Hammer for simply two Grass Energy and two Colorless or a Double Colorless. This makes the card clunky to play and slows down the deck even more.
Now, if you want to use this card then there could be some way to make things easier. Virizon EX could be helpful in accelerating energy using it’s attack, Emerald Slash. It can pull two Grass energy from the deck and attach it to M Venusaur EX or Venusaur EX. This could power one up for Crisis Vine in two turns. The only downside with this is that you need to power up Virizion EX who needs a Grass and a Colorless energy to attack.
Another idea is using Xerneas‘s Geomancy attack to put a Fairy energy on two bench Pokemon and manually attach Prism or Rainbow Energy from the hand to fulfill the Grass requirement. Then you can move the Fairy energy by using Aromatisse‘s Fairy Transfer to M Venusaur EX to attack. If you want to make M Venusaur EX last longer in battle, move the energy off M Venusaur EX and use a Max Potion. Once you do that then move the energy back on and proceed to attack. Geomancy only takes one Fairy Energy to use which is much faster to get things moving. The best part about using Xerneas is that if he does gets knock out, your opponent will only take one prize compare to the two they would have been taking if you were using Virizion EX to energy accelerate.
An interesting tech to consider is EvoSoda which will help you Mega Evolve Venusaur EX to M Venusaur quickly. EvoSoda will allow you to look for any evolution including Mega Evolutions. It will still end your turn but if you are in the right position to evolve and attack then this will be the perfect time to use this item. Celebi EX could be a possible tech as it will give you access to Venusaur EX’s attacks via Time Recall. Venusaur EX’s attacks may not be as powerful but they have easier energy costs.
M Venusaur EX may not be doing mega growth within the metagame but it can be used to some degree. Just beware of Fire Pokemon and decks teching Virizon EX which will stop the secondary effects of Crisis Vine.
Best of luck in using M Venusaur EX and to those competing in upcoming tournaments.
