Summary
- Extradimensional Crisis introduces powerful Ultra Beast cards in the Pokemon TCG Pocket game.
- Stoutland is a strong new addition with Guard Dog Visage, impacting energy costs early in the game.
- Despite potential competition, Stoutland's unique ability may make it a sleeper hit in the meta.
Although not as big as most other sets in the game at base, Extradimensional Crisis is still a relatively large Pokemon TCG Pocket set to collect in full due to its shiny roster. Ultra Beasts remain the big focus of the expansion, with a total of 11 Ultra Beast cards in Extradimensional Crisis (6 of which got at least one alternate version of their card) and several Supporter or Item cards tied to these critters. Pokemon TCG Pocket's Guzzlord Ex is already proving a meta pick, though this is just the start of the new season, and a lot may change. Yet, there is one very good card in the new set that may be a sleeper pick for quite some time.
As much as predictions can be accurate, this is not always the case, as the Pheromosa and Decidueye Ex combo shows. This is a clear, powerful combo for these two cards, and yet, it hasn't seen much competitive play at this stage. Pokemon TCG Pocket's meta decks will likely shift around in the span of the next two weeks, eventually settling on some more powerful picks at the end of that period. It hasn't seen tournament results yet, but the game did introduce a very strong card in the form of Stoutland.
One New Pokemon TCG Pocket Card is Unlikely to Shatter the Ceiling It Should Have
Pokemon TCG Pocket is adding new cards with Extradimensional Crisis, and one of them will likely fail to upgrade existing decks of its type.
One New Pokemon TCG Pocket Card May Take The Meta By Storm
Stoutland is a Stage 2 Pokemon card with 140 HP, the Sharp Fang attack for 70 damage that costs 2 Energy to use, a weakness to Fighting, a Retreat Cost of 2, and more importantly, its Guard Dog Visage ability. This allows Stoutland to increase the Energy cost of the opposing Pokemon by one colorless Energy just by being in the active spot, which is incredibly powerful in the early game of a match. While Guard Dog Visage may fall short in mid- to late-game, depending on the opposing deck, Stoutland is still fairly bulky and has an attack for 70 that is relatively cheap, making it a great addition to many decks.
Pokemon TCG Pocket's Ilima Supporter card also allows players to return to their hand any Normal-type Pokemon card if it has damage on it, so one could play Stoutland and then return it to the hand to prevent the opponent from gaining a point by knocking it out. Even without Ilima, Stoutland can be a powerful threat as early as the user's second turn, or turn three in the game overall, which is incredible.
Pokemon TCG Pocket's Rare Candy makes Stoutland more reliable overall, too, as one can hypothetically skip Herdier as a step to evolve this critter and get the Guard Dog Visage ability online sooner. Starting first and landing a Stoutland on turn two can immensely mess the opponent's strategy due to the extra Energy cost, preventing the opponent from attacking for one or two turns, depending on their deck. On top of that, in this scenario, starting first means that Stoutland can attack on the third turn, and 70 damage against a stalled opponent can be quite a lot with a health pool of 140.
Why Stoutland May Not Have a Significant Role in Pokemon TCG Pocket's Meta
This is not always going to be the case, and there are games where Stoutland may not move the needle much, if at all. Pokemon TCG Pocket's Celestial Guardians set added Oranguru, a 3-Diamond card that's a basic Pokemon with 100 HP and a 2-Energy attack for 40 damage that also makes the opposing Pokemon's attacks cost 1 more and its Retreat Cost also increases by 1. Oranguru is arguably a toned-down version of Stoutland, yet it never saw competitive play, so one could argue that Stoutland wouldn't, either. Still, Stoutland remains bulkier and deals 30 more damage for the same Energy cost, which makes it good (if not great) even after the first few turns, especially considering its ability is passively procced by being in the active slot.
It remains to be seen if Pokemon TCG Pocket's Ranked Mode will see decks running the new Stoutland, but it could very well be a fantastic card to splash in any deck. Seeing how Snorlax and Giratina Ex in Pokemon TCG Pocket make for a fantastic pair due to the former's tanking capabilities, Stoutland has a good chance of becoming a meta pick soon.
- Released
- October 30, 2024
- Developer(s)
- DeNA, Creatures Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- The Pokemon Company
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Digital Card Game
