Guzma – Celestial Guardians
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
The 9th best card of Celestial Guardians is Guzma (A3 151, 193, 208)! He’s a Trainer-Supporter that discards all Tools attached to each of your opponent’s Pokémon. Yes, so straightforward, I didn’t feel the need to reword it! Just to emphasize key words. Guzma is available at the ♦♦ and ★★ rarities.
For anyone who skipped the last several reviews, there are no card effects – beneficial or detrimental – that apply to all Trainer cards. There are three that apply specifically to Supporters1, and all block the opponent from using Supporters during their turn. You’re only able to play one Supporter during your turn, which is why they tend to be the most powerful Trainers. Based on X Speed (P-A 002) and Leaf (A1a 068, 082), Supporters are about twice as potent as the equivalent Item.
I don’t know if it is because of the smaller hand sizes, the smaller deck sizes, or the reduced presence of draw/search/recycling effects in Pocket, but I don’t think players have to focus on having a Supporter to use each turn. It’s still a valuable resource; there will be turns I use a Supporter under less than optimal conditions, because I suspect I’ll need to use a different one more next turn. Or because Iono (A2b 069, 088), Mars (A2 155, 195), and Red Card (P-A 006) can make saving it for naught.
Meaning, the universal drawback of a Supporter, and the more direct competition between them for deck space, isn’t as much of a burden as decades of playing the full Pokémon TCG would lead me to expect. Which brings us back to Guzma himself. Is it really worth your Supporter to discard a Tool? Sometimes, yes! Even discarding one Tool can totally be worth it. Discarding two or more is almost always worth it. So that means Guzma is a new staple, right?
Nope. Guzma is a good card. Maybe even a very good card. He isn’t a great card, though. Even Professor’s Research (P-A 007) can fail you, by showing up when you’ve got nothing – or nothing worthwhile – left to draw in your deck. For better and worse, Guzma now joins the ranks of cards – especially Supporters – you’ll constantly wish to include, but will have to leave out for more essential cards.
Let me emphasize how long this list has become. Though you can argue I’m lumping too many together, as some of these still see a lot of play, while others aren’t that likely to sneak into decks anymore, I’d add Guzma to the role call of Cyrus (A2 150, 190), Dawn (A2 154, 194), Giovanni (A1 223, 270), Iono (A2b 069, 088), Leaf, Mars, Pokémon Center Lady (A2b 070, 089), Red (A2b 071, 090), Sabrina (A1 225, 272) and Team Rocket Grunt (A2b 072, 091).
“Wait! Some of those are staples!” you might be thinking. I’m being hyper strict with the definition of “staple” this time. I don’t think I’ve seen a competitive deck not include Professor’s Research, but many decks can’t squeeze in two copies of Cyrus or Sabrina, let alone two of each. I know it would require rewriting the rules of the game to accommodate it, but I regularly wish I could run two copies of each of those Supporters in most decks.
We should probably discuss Tool cards as well: Giant Cape (A2 147), Leaf Cape (A3 147), Lum Berry (A2 149), Poison Barb (A3 146), and Rocky Helmet (A2 148). I almost never seem Lum Berry being used, even in casual play. The others have seen varying levels of success. Pachirisu ex (A2 061, 183, 198) and Skarmory (A2 111, P-A 039) have attacks that do more damage if they (the attacking Pachirisu ex or Skarmory) have a Tool attached.
I bring up those Pokémon, because they’re one of the few examples of how a player can benefit from the above Tools before your opponent has a chance of discarding them with Guzma. Giant Cape might matter to avoid your Pokémon being KO’d by damage it or your other cards are inflicting, or Lum Berry to cure Special Conditions your own card effects inflicted. Most of the time, Tools don’t matter until your opponent does something. Which creates a window of varying size where your opponent can discard them to prevent you from gaining any of those benefits.
Rating: 3.5/5
Not every deck has space for Tools even if – like those Supporters I mentioned earlier – every deck would run them if they could afford the space. Coupled with hand disruption in the form of Iono, Mars, and Red Card, and players have the incentive to put Tools into play ASAP, even if on a less-than-optimal Pokémon choice. Guzma counters not only Tools, but the tendency to play that way.
Combine that with a field of excellent generic Supporter candidates, and the more deck-specific Supporters I didn’t even list, and Guzma finds himself deserving a slot, but not actually getting it. Thematically, that might even be appropriate for the leader of Team Skull… the important thing is, always ask yourself if you have room for Guzma. Look to see if there’s a good reason to not run it, usually because you just don’t have room after working in the other more vital Supporters.
1Gengar (A1 122; A3 222), Gengar ex (A1 123, 261, 277; A3 234), and Psyduck (A1 057). Gengar ex prevents your opponent from using Supporters while it is Active, via its Ability. The other two have single Energy attacks that prevent your opponent from using a Supporter during their next turn, and also do a little damage.
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