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Pojo's Pokémon Card of the Day

 

Prism Energy

Next Destinies

Date Reviewed: Feb. 23, 2012

Ratings & Reviews Summary

Modified: 4.35
Limited: 4.67

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale.
1 being the worst. 
3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating.

Back to the main COTD Page

Combos With: See Below

Baby Mario
2010 UK National
Seniors
Champion

#2 Prism Energy

Enjoy the flexibility of running multiple Pokémon Types in your deck but dislike the damage counter penalty for attaching a Rainbow Energy? Don’t worry, a solution is now at hand in the shape of the #2 card in our countdown . . . as long as you are using Basic Pokémon that is.

Yes, the runner up card in our Top 10 is Prism Energy, yet another piece of support for Basic Pokémon, following on from Eviolite and Skyarrow Bridge. Effectively this is a no-drawback Rainbow Energy for Basic Pokémon, providing every Type of Energy simultaneously, but only one Energy at a time. The benefits of this are pretty obvious really. Toolbox-style Big Basics decks can splash a variety of Pokémon types without having their HP compromised by Rainbow Energy. Mew Prime decks can run Rainbow and Prism, giving them a better chance of a first Turn See Off and greater flexibility when it comes to using attacks with different Energy costs. It also makes the business of running specific Basic techs a whole lot easier: for example you could now run a Terrakion in a Zekrom deck to use in mirror matches without having to give up slots to Fighting Energy or running the risk of bringing your attackers within OHKO range of your opponent’s Dragons.

Honestly, Prism Energy is just so good for Basics that no-one really needs a review like this to spell it all out for them. But what are the drawbacks? Well, you have the usual downsides that come with Special Energy: you can only run four, they aren’t very searchable (Twins and Victory Medal come to mind), and once they hit the discard pile, they’re pretty much gone (Super Rod, Fisherman, or Flower Shop Lady won’t get them back). The biggest problem for decks that over-rely on Prism Energy is likely to be Lost Remover though: guaranteed Energy removal that banishes to the Lost Zone, where even something as obscure (and unusable) as Stoutland BW’s Odor Sleuth won’t get them back.

Another thing to bear in mind is that Prism won’t work with any of the Energy accelerators we have at the moment, so if you cut Lightning for it in an Eelektrik deck, or include it at the expense of Fire while using Typhlosion, you may find that your Energy doesn’t flow as smoothly as it did before. That’s just the price you pay for the ability to include extra techs though.

It’s all a matter of finding the right balance when using Special Energy. Prism is a very powerful tool, and usually worth the risks. Expect to see it feature in a lot of decks as we head into State Championships.

Rating

Modified: 4 (great card, but seriously . . . watch out for Lost Remover)

Limited: 4.5 (Allows you to mix up your Types a bit, which is very useful in this format)

virusyosh

Greetings, Pojo readers! Today we're reviewing the our #2 rated card from Next Destinies, and it is an Energy card that has been getting a fair amount of hype for its versatility. Today's Card of the Day is Prism Energy.
 
Prism Energy is a Special Energy card, so you're only allowed four per deck, but in return, you will get a good effect. Prism Energy normally provides Colorless Energy, but instead acts like a Rainbow (provides every type of Energy, but only one unit at a time) if attached to a Basic. Decks with many Basics of various types like Six Corners LOVE Prism Energy, but the card also works really well if you're relying on Basics in general. Prism can't fully replace Rainbow Energy in that Evolutions can't use it for anything except Colorless, but most decks relying on multiple Energy types will be running 4 Prism and 4 Rainbow anyway. Overall, Prism Energy is an amazing new resource of Basics, and will see tons of play.
 
Modified: 4.5/5 Prism doesn't belong in every deck, as decks that run only a single type and Evolution decks won't have much use for it. However, Prism truly shines in decks with many Basics of various types, and is absolutely amazing in those archetypes. Make sure to have a Lost Remover or two handy, because Prism is going to see a lot of play in Modified until it rotates out.
 
Limited: 5/5 Most Limited decks are built around Basics of two or more types, and even if you end up running the Evolution cards, Prism can be an excellent temporary Energy fixer. If you manage to build your deck around big Basics like the Pokemon-EX and legendary birds in Next Destinies, Prism will be even better.At any rate, Prism is an excellent inclusion in nearly every Limited deck, even if you're using a more conventional Evolution-based strategy.


Otaku

We come to our penultimate pick of promising cards from BW: Next Destinies, Prism Energy! Special Energies have long been powerful, but some have been very niche.

Can you feel the power?

Stats

Being a Special Energy is pretty restrictive: you can only play one a turn (normally), and you can only have four copies of the card in your deck (which is a major restriction compared to basic Energy cards). Special Energy is often left out by effects (which state they only work on Basic Energy). Still, Energy is Energy and few Pokémon can do anything worthwhile for no Energy, and besides a few Pokémon that have long since rotated out of Modified, the only way to meet Energy requirements is with Energy cards. As you can see by the symbol in the card’s upper right-hand corner, by default this card provides one (C) Energy.

Effects

The effect of this card is that when attached to a Basic Pokémon, instead of providing its default (C) Energy it still provides only one unit of Energy, but it simultaneously counts as all types. The only real downside is this makes it vulnerable to effects that wouldn’t bother a basic Energy in the same situation. Otherwise this is a great Special Energy card, and rather surprising to see in a format where someone like me would expect an effort to reduce the power of Basic Pokémon, not further increase it.

Usage

We already have a card called Rainbow Energy that has a similar effect, except when attached from hand to a Pokémon you place a damage counter on the recipient Pokémon, and it works for all Pokémon, not just Basic Pokémon. So for a deck built mostly around Evolutions, Rainbow Energy is still better because Prism won’t work for most of your Pokémon. When a deck is mostly just attacking with Basic Pokémon (or lacks Evolutions entirely), Prism Energy is clearly the superior choice. Either will allow you to more easily run a multi-Type deck, including just running four copies of Rainbow Energy or Prism Energy instead of any of the basic Energy-Type your “off-Pokémon” need.

What makes this card so very, very important to Modified is nothing prevents it from being run with Rainbow Energy, or being used on Pokémon EX. Mono-basic decks like 6 Corners (and its variants) will have an almost unprecedented ability to Type match. Meeting an attack cost with a single specified (and the rest colorless) Energy requirement will be a given, and even two specified requirements should be reliable enough to execute in many decks. Decks that possess Energy acceleration that works on any Pokémon Type will find it even easier than before to Energize off-Type Basic Pokémon. Given the slew of powerful Basic Pokémon we have and that are on the way, Type-matching TecHs will probably be battling it out in many a match. Thanks to Double Colorless Energy combined with Prism Energy and Rainbow Energy, any deck that can fit in all three can easily power up any Basic Pokémon with an (XCC) Energy cost. Provided, of course, you can protect the Pokémon you’re powering up (either through actual effects, overall speed, or misdirection).

I will add that I am very disappointed it wasn’t worded differently, as this does Pokémon LEGEND cards no good. Quite frankly they could use the help more than the Pokémon EX and in some ways may have balanced them out. I’ll also point out how this feels like the inverse of Double Rainbow Energy. Prism Energy has zero drawbacks for a Basic Pokémon and no other restrictions on it, while Double Rainbow Energy could only work on Evolved Pokémon, and even then had multiple Restrictions and an extra drawback on top of that!

This card is not as useful as it should be in Unlimited. The reason Prism Energy probably won’t have a large impact is short and sweet: the metagame is already crowded with familiar powerhouses, most of which don’t need it. First Turn Win/Donk decks, unless Prism Energy enables a new one, don’t need it (even if they can use it). Many Pokémon in this format either are in a deck with their needed Energy acceleration or have little to know specific Energy-Type costs. I would not call it useless, indeed it will probably be replacing Rainbow Energy in a fair number of decks, and it will allow some cards to see play that wouldn’t normally. The actual change this will cause in Unlimited is likely to be quite minor, though. It is one thing if a card influences the top deck(s) of the format, improving them even if only a little. It is a similar thing when several decks are significantly influenced, but they aren’t the top decks. The sheer volume of cards in Unlimited swallows up Prism Energy and makes any changes that result from its inclusion almost imperceptible.

In Limited, the card is amazing and a must run unless your deck doesn’t need more than a single Energy Type. Most decks in Limited are at least “tri-color”, so that is unlikely. Don’t be afraid if it ends up “going to waste” most matches: what mattes is the option of powering things that aren’t the deck’s primary (or secondary or tertiary etc.) Energy-Type. Even if it isn’t powering anything big, since it works for any Basic it is nice to have just in case.

Ratings

Unlimited: 3.75/5

Modified: 4.5/5

Limited: 4.5/5

Summary

Prism Energy is an amazing card. It was released into a format where big, Basic Pokémon dominate and often need just one specific Energy requirement on their big, multi-Energy attacks. Backed by Rainbow Energy in a well made deck, you should even be able to handle up two specific, off-Type Energy requirements unless discarding is required, at least for Basic Pokémon. This allows it to impact most competitive decks and in some cases significantly improves them. This was my number two pick as well, and I hope I’ve made clear why.

Please check out my eBay sales by clicking here. It’s me whittling away at about two decades worth of attempted collecting, spanning action figures, comic books, TCGs, and video games. Exactly what is up is a bit random. Pojo.com is in no way responsible for any transactions; Pojo is merely doing me a favor by letting me link at the end of my reviews.

Mad Mattezhion
 Professor Bathurst League Australia
#2: Prism Energy (Next Destinies)
 
I look at today's card and I'm immediately reminded of another card: SP Energy. Prism energy shares a similar mechanic and causes the same reaction, namely "do Basics really need more support?"
 
Prism Energy is a Special Energy that provides [c] when attached to anything except a Basic Poke'mon. If attached to a Basic like the text strongly urges you to, you get every kind of energy (but only one energy at a time).
 
Prism energy gives you the freedom to splash any Basic Poke'mon into your deck without running the risk of missing out on the right type of energy. Alternatively you can take that to the extreme and run a mass of different types of Basic Poke'mon in your deck to hit any and all types of Weakness, using Prism Energy alongside Cilan and Rianbow Energy to ensure you can always attack to bring the hurt!
 
Aside from the susceptibility to Lost Remover and the fact that none of the current energy acceleartion tricks will work with Special Energy (aside from Shaymin UL's Celebration Wind Power), there is no downside to Prism Energy. And even against energy removal, you are likely to have more Rainbow and Prism Energy to use than your opponent has Lost Remover and Crushing Hammer!
 
Modifed: 4.5 (Prism energy is just icing on the brutal Basic beatdown cake, but Six Corners and any other Haymaker-esque build will run the full set of 4. Be afraid!)
 
Limited: 5 (you will have Basic Poke'mon, and you will probably be running more than 1 energy type. If you somehow build a deck using only one type, then you can safely store this in the binder for deckbuilding and as an in-demand trade)
 
Combos with: any Poke'mon that already abuses Poke'mon Collector, Revive and Eviolite will like using Prism Energy.


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