The Celestial Guardians replace for Pokémon TCG Pocket has fully revolutionised the sport’s meta however there’s one small card that has had a surprisingly large influence.
Most gamers had been excited to lastly see the introduction of Uncommon Sweet to the digital model of the cardboard sport because the merchandise permits fundamental Pokémon to skip the center evolution and as an alternative rework into its remaining Stage 2 kind. For instance, Charmander can evolve into Charizard EX as early as a participant’s second flip with out the necessity for Charmeleon.
This flipped the meta on its head because it has lastly added to consistency to decks operating Stage 2 evolutions. Earlier than Uncommon Sweet, the meta was all about utilising highly effective fundamental EX Pokémon that didn’t have to evolve like Darkrai, Giratina, Arceus and Mewtwo, giving gamers much-needed consistency in a sport that closely options luck.
Whereas Uncommon Sweet is unhealthy information for these EX decks, there’s an excellent scarier card that has turn into the surpirse package deal of the brand new meta: Oricorio.
The electrical model of the small dancing chook, higher referred to as Oricorio-Pom-Pom, doesn’t have notably spectacular stats with 70HP, a measely 50 harm assault that prices two power, and a one power price retreat. Nevertheless, the Pokémon has a probably devastating capability known as Safeguard which signifies that it could possibly’t take harm from assaults made by EX Pokémon.
Which means if folks simply shove highly effective EX Pokémon into their decks with out every other choices, Oricorio fully bricks them from with the ability to do something and routinely wins the sport. That’s precisely what Twitch streamer Spragels found on the primary day of the enlargement. As you’ll be able to see within the compliation under, he repeatedly brought about rapid concedes from his opponents.
Many members of the group are delighted with this new card because it has primarily signalled the tip of the dreaded “18 coach” decks. This technique noticed gamers deal with a single Pokémon card, often an Articuno EX, and constructed a deck of nothing however two copies of that Pokémon then crammed the remainder of the deck with highly effective gadgets and coach playing cards to help it. Lots of gamers discovered this extraordinarily irritating and boring to play towards because the technique required little or no talent to be efficient. Nevertheless, now a single Oricorio can render these decks fully inneffective.
Oricorio can just about match into any electrical deck to make sure you have a technique towards EX spammers with many gamers already discovering great success pairing the cardboard with Pachirisu EX or the Pawmot evolution line which works extraordinarily properly with Uncommon Sweet.
Nevertheless, whereas the yellow Oricorio is unquestionably a meta defining card it could possibly’t actually be known as overpowered both. Any first rate non-EX Pokémon could make lightwork of its 70HP to then clear a path for highly effective EX Pokémon to then clear up. For instance, the brand new Crabominable EX Pokemon ought to be ruined by Oricorio as a consequence of its electrical weak spot however the card that evolves into it, Crabrawler, is a combating sort with a 20 harm assault that’s tremendous efficient towards Oricorio and may take down the chook in two hits.
Nonetheless, as a result of Oricorio exists, gamers now have to incorporate non-EX Pokémon of their methods and suppose extra rigorously whereas deckbuilding. With a brand new ranked season now underway, enjoying this card is the proper method to rating some free wins and rapidly climb up the ladder, particularly earlier than different gamers realise they should adapt.
In my seven years of esports writing, I’ve introuduced esports protection to newspapers, interviewed among the largest names within the business, and pushed viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I’m most happy with the latter.
