Hello everyone! This is Elena from Gaia Storm TCG and welcome for another article here at CCG. Darkness Ablaze was recently released and it is not only a superb set: it comes packed with incredible powerful cards that are going to start making an impact in the post rotation meta from day 1. What are them and why it is such a good idea to invest in this set?

Before we start talking about the best new comers to the game, we need to consider for a second how the environment is going to look like after September. As every year, it is rotation time, meaning that every card from Sun and Moon to Forbidden Light won’t be legal anymore. A whole new meta is going to be created with the loss of iconic cards like Thunder Mountain, Electropower, Mysterious Treasure and many others. Darkness Ablaze will for sure be one of the pillars moving forward in this TEU-ON format because of all the new elements it introduces to the game.

Let’s start by looking at some of the Pokémon from this set. Darkness receives the perfect champion with Eternatus V-Max, a Mega Rayquaza-like Pokémon that is able to deal up to 270 damage with just two single energies.  The simplicity of the strategy coupled with very flexible partners like Hoopa, Sableye and Zigzagoon makes Eternatus one of the biggest threats for the immediate future. Speaking of big numbers, we also have Centiskorch, a fire type behemoth than can reach incredible damages with the help of Welder. And last but of course not least we are also getting Vikavolt V, a very annoying Pokémon that brings back all the nightmares Seismitoad EX created some formats ago. Luckily for everyone, most of the lightning support is rotating as well so VIkavolt V’s item lock won’t be as strong as it can get.

The last deck I want to mention is one that has a familiar strategy. Based on the universe of Alice in Wonderland, Mad Party is a deck that deals more damage the times Pokémon with that attack go to the discard pile. Of course, any experienced player is going to automatically think about Night March and the fact that it ended up being the most powerful deck of its era. On the one hand, Mad Party doesn’t have all the consistency cards NM had in its prime form (Battle Compressor, Ultra Ball, Puzzle of Time…) but it certainly has more attackers and should not be taken lightly.  It will be one of the only decks that can effectively trade one single prize attackers during an entire game.

I still have one Pokémon to cover, which is without a doubt an instant staple for this format and for many more to come: Crobat V. Missing Shaymin EX? You thought we didn’t have enough consistency in Standard? Crobat is here to solve that. When played from the hand, Crobat allows you to draw up to 6 cards. If we take into consideration that Dedenne GX is still out there, that means that every deck has suddenly gotten more consistent. It currently seems that the lineup for most standard strategies is going to be 2 Dedennes and 1 Crobat but it will be interesting to see how the builds evolve with time.

And finally, let’s not forget about the supporter and items cards, a category where we can find many interesting additions but let me just mention the two most usable ones: First, we have Turbo patch, an amazing item that can turn games around with one coin toss. And then, Birdkeeper looks like a promising generic card that might find its way into many decks now that some switching cards rotate.

So, as you can see, Darkness Ablaze is an amazing set that will be incredible for the short and long-term. Don’t forget to get your cards here at CCG so be prepared for the competition! Thanks for reading