|
Broken Time-Space (Platinum)
So, we reach the half-way point of our Top 10, and we
come to a card that I have mixed feelings about: Broken
Time-Space (or ‘BTS’ for short).
Don’t get me wrong, this is a very useful card and
deserves to be on the list. It is not a coincidence that
it was released in the same set that brought us SP
Pokémon, because Broken Time-Space gave Evolution decks
a way to compete with the sheer speed of the new
all-Basic decks. With this card, and a thick Pokémon
line, Stage 2 decks had another way to evolve faster
besides Rare Candy. Set up decks could get Claydol up as
quickly as their first Trainer turn, and decks like
Gyarados became possible as it was no longer necessary
to leave a weak Basic out for a turn while it waited to
evolve. Stage 2 tech lines such as Dusknoir DP and
Nidoqueen RR became more viable as it became less risky
to use a precious Rare Candy to evolve them, and decks
with multiple Stage 2 lines could set up with reasonable
speed.
So, why do I have reservations about the card?
Well, from a purely practical point of view, the massive
drawback to Broken Time-Space is that the opponent can
use it as well. In fact, when building Stage 2 decks, I
often drop it in favour of more consistency cards and
make the assumption that if my opponent is going to use
Broken Time-Space to speed up their deck, I will be able
to make better use of it myself that way. A lot of
Flygon players especially adopted the same tactic: they
would use their opponent’s BTS and then discard it with
Sand Wall to gain immunity for the turn.
The other reason this card is not my favourite is that
it has substantially increased the ability of certain
Stage 2 decks to get a ‘donk’ or first turn win. When
playing Machamp or Kingdra, using Rare Candy and BTS
meant that, with the right build, a Pokémon that could
auto-KO any Basic, or deal 60 +20 damage on the first
Trainer turn was all too possible. Fine if you are the
person doing the donking, but not so much fun for anyone
on the receiving end.
Despite its name, Broken Time-Space isn’t ‘broken’, but
it has made a significant contribution to speeding up
the game of Pokémon and making turn 1 wins more common.
It has its good side and bad side, but it has certainly
earned its place as the ‘default’ Stadium in most
evolution decks.
Rating
Modified: 4 (extremely useful, but use with a bit of
care)
Limited: 4.5 (brilliant if you pull an evolution line)
|
