Hello everyone! This is Elena from Gaia Storm TCG and it is a pleasure to be here once again. As you all probably know a brand new type of Pokémon (or better said, the evolution of a certain existing mechanic) is coming to Pokémon TCG. Tag Team GX Pokémon will officially debut in a couple of weeks and, although it is not clear how much impact they will have in the game, it is out of question the amazing potential they hold. Let’s take a look at them and see what makes them the most powerful Pokémon to date.
Revealed during last World Championship the idea is that Pokémon Tag Team are the combination of two Pokémon. These basic cards have massive amounts of HP (being the highest non evolved Pokémon of the game) and feature moves capable of winning the game in just one use. Of course, great power comes with great responsibility and Tag Team cards have a crucial downside that can backfire during the game: when knocked out, the opponent takes not two but three prizes. This dangerous exchange means players will need to consider carefully the risk those cards imply when including them in the decks. In Japan, where Tag Team cards have been legal for some time now, there have appear different strategies revolving around this idea but we will need to wait a bit more to see if they have the same impact once they arrive here in Team Up.
One of the most promising Tag Team cards is Zekrom & Pikachu. Being a lightning type means it can take advantage of all the electric support such as Thunder Mountain, Zeraora GX and Electropower and the deck has been having some success in Japan lately. Although the fighting weakness is a factor to consider, Zekrom has amazing charging capacities and if able to perform its GX attack while fulfilling the requirement of having +3 energy attached, it can take two big knock outs in just one swing. In a similar way we will be receiving Latios & Latias Tag Team with an attack capable of destroying everything discarding Psychic energies (best new friend for Malamar) and it also displays the possibility to gain virtual immunity for one turn.
On the opposite side Venusaur & Celebi as well as Wailord & Magikarp seem to be designed to stall. With their tremendous HP (270 and 300 respectively) they can survive basically any attack while disrupting opponent’s plays. I won’t be surprise to see some people trying some Venusaur healing deck as well as exploring the possibilities of Wailord Tag Team in Expanded alongside with recovery and tropical beaches (Note: Wailord & Magikarp have already been released in a promo box and would be legal for tournament play very soon!). Venusaur, in fact, has a very unique GX attack that lets the player shuffle all cards in the discard pile back into the deck –a fantastic opportunity to recycle hammers and other disruption supporters– so I could anticipate an attacking/disruption deck functioning in Standard. Lastly, we also have Snorlax & Eevee and Mimikyu & Gengar. Both cards seem pretty balanced and might be teched in some already existing strategies rather than building a specific deck around them.
It will be very interesting to see if this big GX Pokémon have the same effect in the game as they have had in Japan. Even if the Tag Team mechanic doesn’t shine straight away I am certain that they will continue to receive boost in the following sets so... are we ready to enter in this new era? Thanks for reading!