Hi everyone! This is Elena from Gaia Storm TCG and once again it is my pleasure to be once again here. Today we are going to take a look at a very unique deck that is a bit under the radar. Everyone knows the potential that Glaceon GX holds but it has not shined yet the metagame. Let’s take a look at this card!

Objectively speaking, Glaceon had good features. The most amazing feature of Glaceon (apart from its beautiful artwork, let me tell you) is its ability to shut down entire strategies. When active, Freezing Glaze gets rid of opponents GX and EX abilities. I can’t stress how crucial this can be in certain match ups that rely on abilities from Pokémon such as Zoroark GX or Volcanion EX. Now, Glaceon has a worthy attack at the cost of three energies that deals 90 damage to the active and 30 chip damage to the bench, ideal numbers to get the 2HKO with a choice band.

In spite of all these characteristics, Glaceon has not been played competitively that much since its release for a number of reasons. Some top decks (Vikabolt, Magnezone or Buzzwole) don’t use many GX abilities and that means Glaceon is immediately in disadvantage. Even if Glaceon goes against a pure Zoroark build, if the opponent player manages to find supporters at the right time, it will still be hard for Glaceon to take the game. Last, the damage output is solid but not high. That means that Glaceon will have problems trying to return the KOs of a full powered Pokémon like Gardevoir or Buzzwole because it will need two turns to take it down.

However, there are some players that have still chosen to bet for Glaceon and have achieved interesting placements with the deck in some large events. How? Taking disruption to the next level! In standard, Glaceon GX have been paired with Garbodor to ensure zero abilities during the game and recently, a Glaceon Barbaracle build (bye bye DCEs) made its way to the top 8 of the recent Costa Mesa regionals. This latest version included several copies of enhanced hammer and other ways of dealing with energy.

So, in conclusion, Glaceon might not be the most popular deck right now. It has some flaws in the current format that have prevented it from shining but it shouldn’t be completely discarded especially in some environments where Zoroark reigns supreme– like expanded-.  We will see how Glaceon and the format evolve! Thanks for reading!