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Pojo's Pokémon Card of the Day

Baby Mario 2010 UK National Seniors Champion	#1 Mewtwo-EX So, after two weeks of counting down the best cards from Next Destinies, we finally come to the #1 card. These are never a surprise are they? Yes, the top card from the set is the mighty Mewtwo-EX. At the time of writing it has been legal for play for just two weeks and already it’s difficult to know what to say about this card: it seems like it was all said a long time ago. Mewtwo-EX is a Basic Pokémon-EX, which means it gives up two Prizes when it is KO’d. It has 170 HP, which is huge, and while the Dragon-EXs and Regigigas-EX have a little more, it will rarely be of any consequence in-game. Being a Basic, Mewtwo-EX has access to all the advantages that come with that: it is easily searched for with Pokémon Collector or Dual Ball, its durability is enhanced even further with Eviolite, it can use Prism Energy, and its slightly inconvenient Retreat cost of two can be made more manageable with Skyarrow Bridge. As a Psychic Type that is Weak to Psychic, Mewtwo has little to fear except for other Mewtwo, the occasional Mew Prime, and Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND, all of which are, in turn, vulnerable to Mewtwo through their own Weakness. Chandelure NV could also pose a few problems. Both of Mewtwo-EX’s attacks are good, but the real star is X Ball. For two Energy of any Colour, Mewtwo will do 20 damage times the amount of Energy on both it and the Defending Pokémon. It’s the Colourless Energy requirement that really makes this attack so great: attach a Double Colourless Energy, and it’s already hitting for at least 40 (enough to OHKO Babies, Mew Prime, and weak Basics like Tynamo and Oddish). Combine it with any form of Energy acceleration (Eelektrik NV, Celebi Prime, Gardevoir ND) and the sky’s the limit when it comes to damage output. It’s splashable and brutally fast: you can use Mewtwo early to put the opponent under immediate pressure, or bring it out as a late game sweeper with Shaymin UL available to shift all the Energy you need on to it. The other attacking option, Psydrive, isn’t bad either. [P][P][C] for 120 damage is very good, even with the requirement to discard an Energy. With Psychic or Prism Energy in a Mewtwo deck, this is definitely an option for dealing with Pokémon that don’t have much Energy attached such as Reshiram BW (which discards when it attacks). It can also be used with Pokémon Catcher to KO any Energyless Mewtwos which your opponent Benches. Basically, if a deck runs either Double Colourless Energy, or has any form of Energy acceleration, then Mewtwo-EX can be included to great effect. Even if it’s primarily there to counter other Mewtwo, it will more than earn its place. Of the major competitive lists out there, only Durant decks can’t be improved by playing one or two of these cards. It’s the ultimate tech card, but so much more than that . . . decks that use Mewtwo as a main attacker (notably with Celebi Prime support) are also extremely powerful top tier contenders. Unlike other TCG’s, Pokémon rarely produces cards that hit the $60+ mark on the secondary market. Luxray GL LV X did, and so did Yanmega Prime for a brief period. The reason for that? They were format-defining cards that featured in the most successful decks of that particular time. Mewtwo-EX was hitting those numbers as a pre-order. That tells you how much hype this card was getting. Just for once, I think it was justified. Rating Modified: 4.5 (put a couple of these in your deck or play Durant . . . ok, I’m exaggerating . . . but only very slightly) Limited: 4.75 (one of these will pretty much win you the game by itself)
virusyosh	Happy Friday, Pojo readers! Today we're reviewing what our staff has voted the #1 card from the new Next Destinies expansion, and this won't surprise anyone due to the massive amounts of hype surrounding the card. Today's Card of the Day is Mewtwo-EX.   Mewtwo is a Basic Psychic Pokemon-EX. As a Psychic-type, Mewtwo only sees competition with the rare Chandelure as an attacker; most other common Psychic-types are support Pokemon, such as Reuniclus. As a Pokemon-EX, whenever Mewtwo is KOed, your opponent takes two Prize cards, which is a fair trade off for a card with power such as this. 170 HP is monstrous on a Basic, easily surviving most assaults aside from a mirror match. Psychic Weakness means that Mewtwo's best counter is itself, although Mew Prime can also be used if you are able to set it up in time. Sadly, Mewtwo has no Resistance, and its Retreat Cost of 2 is fairly easy to pay, and can be reduced further with Skyarrow Bridge.   Mewtwo-EX has two attacks. First is the very hyped X Ball, which deals 20 damage times the number of Energy attached to Mewtwo AND the Defending Pokemon for two Colorless (most commonly a Double Colorless). Many commonly played Pokemon have attacks that require a lot of Energy, and Mewtwo can easily cut them down to size. In this way, Mewtwo-EX matches up very well against the dragons that don't discard (Zekrom, Reshiram-EX, Kyurem) as well as anything that uses many Energies to attack (sorry, Gothitelle). Furthermore, Mewtwo pairs incredibly well with any type of Energy acceleration, so Celebi Prime, Eelektrik NV, and even Emboar BW are all great partners in order to get X Ball rolling. Psydrive, Mewtwo's second attack, deals 120 damage for two Psychic and a Colorless, requiring you to discard an Energy from Mewtwo. Chances are this attack will never be used unless Mewtwo is paired with Gardevoir ND, and even then, X Ball will probably be a better choice most of the time. That being said, Psydrive is still a very potent attack for the cost, and can easily score a KO or two against the opponent.   Modified: 4/5 First of all, let me start off by saying that Mewtwo-EX is very, very good. However, it isn't the be-all and end-all of Modified as some predicted, and it's far from unbeatable. While 170 HP, good typing, and powerful attacks all make Mewtwo a Pokemon to definitely look out for, there are a few things to keep in mind as well. First of all, since Mewtwo's best counter is itself, you'll need to take care and play intelligently to "win the Mewtwo war", as dropping a Mewtwo with a Double Colorless attached could be a risky proposition otherwise. Second, as Mewtwo is a Pokemon-EX, your opponent takes two Prizes for KOing it. While Mewtwo will slaughter main attackers in most decks with relative ease, most good decks in the format will be able to 2-for-1 Mewtwo fairly easily, and while doing so, keep an even Prize count. Therefore, Mewtwo is only good as a main attacker if you can outrace your opponent, which can be very difficult to do in this metagame.That being said, Mewtwo-EX is still a very powerful and versatile Pokemon that you WILL see in the tournament scene.   Limited: 5/5 Like all of the Pokemon-EX from Next Destinies, Mewtwo is an automatic inclusion in Next Destinies Limited decks. 170 HP is ridiculous, and X Ball will single-handedly win games in this format. Psydrive can also be fairly nice, but X Ball will often be all you need against your opponents' waves of low-HP basics. If you manage to pull one, use it.   Combos With: Energy acceleration (Celebi Prime, Eelektrik NV, Gardevoir ND, Emboar BW)
Mad Mattezhion  Professor Bathurst League Australia	#1: Mewtwo EX (Next Destinies)   You all had to see this one coming!   We have today what is definitely the most hyped card of the Next Destinies expansion, and I have to say that I believe this card has well and truly earned the hype.   First, the monstrous stats. Mewtwo EX clocks in at a whopping 170 HP, which is slightly overshadowed by Regigigas and the three Dragons, but it's still freaking awesome! Also, being a Psychic type is great as we now have plenty of support for both the energy type and a bunch of other useful tricks on Psychic Poke'mon (Reuniclus BW, Musharna ND and Gothitelle ND come to mind). The Psychic Weakness is going to be a problem in the inevitable mirror matches, but Leavanny NV will cure that (it finally will get some play at tournaments!). The retreat cost of 2 is very generous given how large the HP score is, and can be further lowered by Gardevoir ND, Metagross UL and Skyarrow Bridge. Mewtwo has the staying power to be worth 2 Prizes and will be abused even more than the Tao dragons were.   The attacks are both quite good. X-ball is the biggest reason for the hype, mainly because it has that beautiful mixture of easily improved damage and a completely colourless cost. For the mere pittance of [c][c], Mewtwo EX will deal 20 damage for each energy attached to itself and to the Defending Poke'mon. That's right, not only will you deal lots of damage with energy acceleration tricks such as Gardevoir, Emboar BW and Double Colourless Energy, you get to add in the energy on the other side to sweeten the deal!   Of course, with the likelyhood of having a Mewtwo versus Mewtwo match, X-Ball gets completely out of hand. With Weakness in effect, all that's needed is 4 energy in total and a Pluspower for the Ko and 2 Prizes! Of course, Eviolite will raise that number by 1, and if one side has Leavanny NV on the table then they have a massive advantage and don't nee to be so afraid of stacking energy, which means complete obliteration when you start getting to crazy numbers of energy.   Of course, X-Ball doesn't work all that well against the Benched support Poke'mon you drag up with Poke'mon Catcher, mainly because they likely won't have any energy attached. Sure, you could just keep laying down energy to power up X-Ball (works like a charm when backed by Gardevoir) but that leaves you open to a costly revenge KO If your opponent drops a Mewtwo of their own with a DCE to return fire. At this point, you would do better to use Psydrive.   The name is apt, because you'll drive the opponent off the edge and into oblivion with this lovely piece of work. For [p][p][c] and a single energy discard, you deal 120 damage. We know that 3 for 120 damage is the benchmark for efficiency (just look at the Dragons) so we know this is a great deall, and with only a little help from a Pluspower or two, you can destroy and support Poke'mon in the game, including the Primes. Just to ice the cake, you don't have to discard that Prism Energy you are using to pay the cost because the attack will discard any type of energy, so splashing Mewtwo is still a breeze.   So, we have a huge Poke'mon that is almost impossible to 1HKO with 2 brilliant attacks, several in-typ options for bench shenanigans and energy acceleration, the Basic type that works so well with the best support cards in the game and to top it all off you can splash it into your deck without even changing your energy if you so wish. In this case, the hype is completely justified!   Modified: 5 (we don't give out the top score lightly, but I think it's fair to say that any deck focused on attacking, which means anything except Durant mill decks and Unlimited Sableye SF first-turn-win builds, will benefit from at least a single copy of Mewtwo EX. Even with the 2 Prize card penalty, Mewtwo is too good to pass up!)   Limited: 4 (the loss of half of your Prize cards is a little more problematic, but I would still be tempted to run Mewtwo EX on it's own with just the energy. Regigiggas EX may give you trouble though)   Combos with: Leavanny NV, Double Colourless Energy, Gardevoir ND and Prism Energy are the most powerful support options for Mewtwo but there is no shortage of other options for when you start building your deck!
Otaku	At last we come to our top promising pick of BW: Next Destinies, and it is Mewtwo EX. I am sure that virtually everyone saw this coming a mile away. Mewtwo EX is the most hyped card of BW: Next Destinies. I will mention I prefer the normal art version to the full art version: both are nice pieces of work but the full art version is relying on its nature to improve upon the basic artwork, while the normal version just has great art to begin with. Time to have ourselves a ball! Stats First and foremost, Mewtwo EX is a Pokémon EX, and like all the others is worth two Prize cards when KOed. It will need to live up to the hype to be worth those two Prizes, especially when we have so many amazing Basic Pokémon that are only good for one Prize when KOed. It is a Basic Pokémon, so it is easy to fit into a deck and get into play, plus is amazingly well supported this format. Mewtwo EX is a Psychic Type, so it can hit many cards for Weakness and will have a little support if you wanted to put it in an all or mostly Psychic deck. It sports an amazing 170 HP, but don't forget it is worth two Prizes. This isn't the same as having (for example) an 80 HP and a 90 HP Basic Pokémon in its stead. Being bigger makes it easier to survive damage, so at least you get off another attack. This can mimic Energy acceleration as you’ll likely survive an extra turn, and that extra turn can be spent powering up something else as well as using the Energy attached to Mewtwo EX to attack. Since Mewtwo EX is Weak to Psychic Pokémon, that means most of what it can hit for double damage, in turns hits it with the same multiplier. The good news is many Psychic-Type Pokémon don't focus on doing a lot of damage. The few that do can OHKO Mewtwo EX despite its massive size, so be careful. The lack of Resistance is annoying in that on such a massive Pokémon it would be extra effective, but then again that is probably why it is missing. I’ve mentioned before that some Pokémon TPC thought were powerful enough were balanced out by having a double Weakness, and I’d rather avoid that than have a single Resistance, or even a double Resistance. At least if it isn’t standard for all cards. Last we come to the Retreat Cost of two. This is functionally "average": usually you can afford to pay it, but most of the time you won't want to as it will use up a significant amount of resources. With the release of Skyarrow Bridge you can drop that down to a single Energy Retreat Cost, much easier to handle and a welcome benefit. Effects Mewtwo EX has two attacks. The first is X Ball, which costs (CC) and does 20 points of damage for each Energy attached to both Active Pokémon. This attack allows Mewtwo EX to attack first turn for 40 points of damage with some form of Energy acceleration (most commonly Double Colorless Energy). That isn't bad if you have to start out with Mewtwo EX. It is a bit of a concern if you have to manually power it up one Energy at a time, though. The real strength of the attack is that most Pokémon will have two or three Energy attached when Mewtwo EX goes to attack. Note that the attack counts Energy and not Energy cards! This means a Mewtwo EX, as long as you can get your current Active Pokémon out of the way, can come out of no where and hit for between 40 and 100 points of damage before Weakness (depending on the amount of Energy your opponent has attached to the Defending Pokémon). This is most important when you're hitting for Weakness since now that's 40 points of damage per Energy; an easy 80 with a single Double Colorless Energy with 120 or 160 being likely. Without Weakness or a combo to saturate it with Energy, X-Ball it isn't going to carry the card. It is a big hit to take, but if something has that much Energy and you don't KO it, odds are it will his Mewtwo EX next turn just as hard but for two Prizes. Fortunately the second attack is Psydrive, which does 120 points of damage for (PCC) and a single Energy discard. It isn't Double Colorless Energy compliant, but the card is quite potent even without the added synergy. The Energy discard isn't too bad either: factoring in Energy invested and treating the discard as if it were an extra Energy in the cost, you'd be at 50 points of damage, so doing another 70 is worth being a non-Evolving Basic Pokémon and Pokémon EX. Psydrive is harder to pay for, but if Mewtwo EX isn’t getting much help from in the form of Energy attached to the Defending Pokémon, Psydrive is likely the better deal. This may sound unlikely given the Energy costs in this format, but don’t forget several Pokémon discard their Energy to attack and if you are trying to force up a Bench-Sitter, it probably doesn’t have much (or any) Energy attached. These are two great attacks, worthy of a Stage 2 attacker; even on a Basic Pokémon worth two Prizes, they are amazing. Usage For the foreseeable future, Mewtwo EX will be everywhere because it is a popular Pokémon even outside of the TCG, and because quite frankly it is worth playing all competitive decks. Due to its Weakness to its own Type and X-Ball being so easy to power in most major decks, it is the natural counter to itself, making its presence in the metagame almost inescapable. Mewtwo EX is a generic opener, though I recommend holding it in hand unless you’re risking a donk with what you’d already have in play. Mewtwo EX is quite likely to run into an opposing Mewtwo EX, and you don’t want to chance your opponent taking yours out first. Mewtwo EX is also an excellent closer, needing so little Energy for a solid hit and, if you do have the remains of a great set-up, capable of delivering finishing blows to just about anything. After a humbling debate where I lost, I know realize Mewtwo EX is capable of carrying its own deck, though literally the deck ran almost no other Pokémon and used the space to follow the classical formula for breaking a Pokémon: Trainers, Trainers, and more Trainers. Eviolite increases the card’s already ample HP. Skyarrow Bridge makes its Retreat Cost more manageable. It’s an easy pull for Pokémon Collector or all but an unlucky Dual Ball, and Prism Energy can be an option for players that really need to access Psydrive in an otherwise off-Type deck. Despite all this, Mewtwo EX is not invincible. You still have to play your cards well and make wise choices. Even protected by Eviolite, two hits totaling 210 points of damage will drop it. Healing in between shots is unlikely for most decks running Mewtwo EX, and this is a format where one expects Zekrom or Reshiram to hit for 120 before other effects. Your opponent can sacrifice two such Pokémon and if you’re lucky you’ll have a slight advantage because of the Energy they expended doing it. Pay attention to Pokémon that discard their own Energy, since that can be trip up your plans: Reshiram can pop Mewtwo EX for 120, but a minimally powered X-Ball only hits it back for 60 since said Reshiram discarded down to two Energy. Mirror matches can be especially tricky. If you’re just loading your Mewtwo EX up for X-Ball, you can almost count on your opponent (at least at high level events) being able to drop and power their own Mewtwo EX in a single move, promote it, and take down your own. After all, if the opposing Mewtwo EX has the minimum Energy needed for X-Ball, it just needs your Mewtwo EX to have three Energy itself, even if you’ve got Eviolite attached. It will likely be a matter of who has more Mewtwo EX or who can afford to lose more, depending on the Prize count. I’ve been explaining how the other Pokémon EX, in the right decks, can take on Mewtwo EX. Mewtwo EX still has the overall advantage due to its versatility, and in a deck dedicated to it Mewtwo EX will hit amazing hard and fast as well. Still don’t ignore the threat of the other Pokémon EX. Obviously Shaymin EX is only a threat for a revenge kill, and even then it can’t OHKO Mewtwo EX unless you’ve taken five Prizes and don’t have Eviolite or it has PlusPower. A fellow Mewtwo EX is quite the pain as described above. If Regigigas EX can be tricky in controlling your damage done: you pop a Regigigas EX for 120 and it swings back for 170, and both of you can try to toss in an extra Trainer or a useful Bench-Sitter to swing things in your own favor. Reshiram EX, Zekrom EX, and Kyurem EX all can’t OHKO Mewtwo EX without spamming two to four PlusPower or dropping a Black Belt, but they have base HP scores of 180, just like Regigigas EX. That means a OHKO requires a total of nine Energy cards between Mewtwo EX and which ever one you’re hitting, 10 if said target has an Eviolite. Even if they have the full four Energy needed for those cards’ big attacks, that’s five or six Energy to drop onto Mewtwo EX. If Mewtwo EX is hitting first, it isn’t as much of a problem. If Mewtwo EX is hitting second, the good news is you probably KOed a Pokémon before this but the bad news is your opponent’s Pokémon EX gets a free shot, and they can tag you with a supporting attack. Kyurem EX can be especially frustrating if your Mewtwo EX has been trying to rely on Double Colorless Energy. Plus there’s a few more to watch out for that aren’t Pokémon EX. Magnezone Prime has to give up a lot of Energy, but five Energy for two Prizes isn’t a bad deal, and if your Mewtwo EX happens to be missing Eviolite, then it’s almost a bargain at four! A savvy player can weigh the risk of a follow up Mewtwo EX as well; since Magnezone usually is partnered with Energy acceleration, it might drop itself to one or no Energy attached just because that requires Mewtwo EX load up with seven Energy for a OHKO. The Emboar without an Ability can easily function as an attacker in your more traditional Inferno Fandango decks, and it can do a solid 150 points of damage, plus since it sheds two of its Energy, it may need help to power up the next turn but it also is harder for Mewtwo EX to retaliate against and KO in one shot. While as Stage 2 Pokémon these cards require heavy investment, it will become a matter of who can afford to lose what: you a Mewtwo EX, some Energy, and two Prizes, or your opponent a Stage 2, some Energy, and a single Prize. Then there is the incredibly unlikely, an opponent is running something like Magneboar. Space in the deck is tight but if has the best chance of dropping and prepping a Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND in a single turn, and since it is part Psychic it easily OHKOs Mewtwo EX, and the Space Virus Poké-Body means your opponent takes three Prize cards. Of course, this paints a might bleak picture, and we are talking about the rare things that can threaten Mewtwo EX. So what about Unlimited? Despite having a similar name it is not the same as the old Pokémon ex cards: that means you can now (in Unlimited) run a deck with four Mewtwo, four Rocket’s Mewtwo, four Mewtwo ex, four Rocket’s Mewtwo ex, four Mewtwo EX, one Shining Mewtwo and one Mewtwo* ! The four “plain” Mewtwo can also include Mewtwo δ or Mewtwo LV.X. Of greater significance, all those classic cards that expressly didn't work for Pokémon ex should work fine with Pokémon EX. You also get to tap into cards that were just obscenely powerful when first introduced anyway, like Scoop Up and Focus Band. If Mewtwo EX can anchor a Modified deck as an attacker, I am pretty sure it can do it here. I don’t know if the same formula would be a good idea (running almost mono-Mewtwo EX), but you might be able to pull it off. I doubt it would be an especially good “donk” deck, since you have to deal with things like the Baby Rule and Psychic Resistance. You couldn’t just rely on a Double Colorless Energy to donk something like a Sableye or Sneasel. The low Energy costs of many Pokémon won’t help either, but your own large HP can help protect against opposing donk or even first turn win decks: if your opponent can only spam damage counter placement on Mewtwo EX, they’ve got to do it 17 times. With back-up Mewtwo EX should be formidable, though it might have to rely more on Psydrive than X-Ball, except against Baby Pokémon. If you pull this in Limited and aren't worried about potentially ruining its value, you run this. Any deck can easily accommodate it thanks to X Ball, and if you have a few Psychic Energy, all the better. Just remember that it is worth half your Prizes (since Limited play only starts with four), and try to play it only for the win, or when your opponent has already taken three Prizes. Ratings Unlimited: 4/5 Modified: 4.75/5 Limited: 5/5 Summary Mewtwo EX doesn't live up to all of the hype, but it came real, real close. Unless there’s a surprise card or obscure combo the entire Japanese community missed, Mewtwo EX will be a defining part of the metagame the rest of the format. This was my number one pick, and was number one or two on all of the lists. I'd be annoyed at how powerful it is, but the format was already unbalanced before this came out. For the format it is entering, Mewtwo EX is indeed balanced, or I suspect at least as close as it can be. We’ve seen an awful lot of cards lately that imply we are once again in an area of being overpowered, or underpowered, with little in between. 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.