Breaking Down the New 'Ultra Prism' Expansion of the Pokemon Trading Card Game

The Pokemon Trading Card Game has a brand new expansion.Pokemon fans can now purchase booster [...]

By Christian Hoffer - February 3, 2018 11:49 am EST

The Pokemon Trading Card Game has a brand new expansion.

Pokemon fans can now purchase booster packs and other product related to the brand new 'Ultra Prism' TCG expansion. With 175 new cards for players to collect, 'Ultra Prism' is the biggest TCG expansion since the e-Card era of the game 15 years ago.

Players who pick up 'Ultra Prism' boosters might quickly notice a theme in the new set. Almost all of the Pokemon and Trainers seen in the new deck hail from the Sinnoh region, the area first explored in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. According to the description of the new set, this expansion explores a parallel version of the Sinnoh region that can be accessed by the Ultra Wormholes first seen in Pokemon Sun and Moon.

There are also a few new Pokemon and mechanics in the new set. Both Dusk Mane Necrozma and Dawn Wings Necrozma make their first appearance in the Pokemon TCG as powerful GX cards. There are also special "Prism Star" cards which are more powerful than regular cards, but are totally removed from play once knocked out or used.

So what cards should players be on the lookout for? Let's take a look at some of the strongest new cards in the expansion:

Glaceon-GX

Glaceon-GX might be the strongest card in the 'Ultra Prism' expansion due to its "Freezing Gaze" ability. Freezing Gaze prevents an opponent's GX and EX cards from using any of its Abilities. Most decks are built around EX and GX cards, so Glaceon-GX has the ability to completely shut down an opponent's deck, especially if Glaceon-GX can be played early on in the game.

Glaceon-GX's two attacks are also pretty impressive. Frost Bullet dishes out 90 damage to an opponent's main Pokemon, plus 30 to one of its Benched Pokemon. Plus, the Polar Spear-GX attack is based on how many damage counters an opponent has, which means that it's the perfect finisher.

Glaceon-GX's only real downside is its weakness against Metal-Type attacks, since Metal-Types have gained steam recently in competitive play. Still, you can expect to see a lot of Glaceon-GX decks in the coming months.

Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX

Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX is probably the expansion's other powerhouse, capable of dealing out tons of damage every single turn. Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX is particularly bulky with 190 HP and its Meteor Tempest attack can do a whopping 220 damage, albeit at the cost of discarding some energy. 220 damage is enough to knock out just about any Pokemon card, so your main priority is figuring out a way to cycle energy back onto Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX as quickly as possible.

Luckily, there's a few new cards that should be able to help Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX get set up pretty quickly. The Mt Coronet Stadium card allows players to pull energy from their discard pile and onto their hand and the new Magnezone has an ability that allows players to attach as many Metal energy onto one of your Pokemon as you'd like. If players can set up both Magnezone and Mt Coronet, they're basically turning their deck into damage dealing nightmare that's all but impossible to stop.

Dialga-GX

The other overpowered GX card in the new set is Dialga-GX, which makes use of time control in a disgusting way. Dialga-GX uses Metal energy, which means its compatible with the Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX strategies we mentioned earlier. Dialga-GX also has an awesome GX-attack, Timeless-GX, which allows players to go twice in a row. If timed correctly, players can knock out an opponent's Pokemon with Timeless-GX and then use the second turn to bring out Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX and score another knockout.

The main downside to Dialga is that its non-GX attack Shred can only do 80 damage. That will probably prevent most players from building a deck around Dialga-GX, but this could turn out to be a great support Pokemon.

Empoleon

Empoleon isn't as sexy as some of the other cards in this expansion, but it can still wreck havoc on opponents. Players got an early look at what Empoleon could do during pre-release tournaments, as it was a featured Pokemon in some of the pre-release packs.

Empoleon's primary attack is Total Command, which does 20 damage times the number of Benched Pokemon both players have. That means that Empoleon can do up to 200 damage for just two energy, which is insane. Empoleon's other attack is Whirlpool, which forces an opponent to remove an Energy from their Active Pokemon. If a player hasn't gotten their Pokemon set up yet, Whirlpool can disrupt a player's strategy and basically nerf their deck.

Infernape

Infernape is another Pokemon that requires a bit of setup, but has the potential to really hurt opponents. Infernape's ability causes opponents to take 60 damage between turns whenever their Pokemon is Burned. That stacks up in a hurry, especially if a player can't cure their Pokemon in between turns. Infernape's Burst Punch automatically Burns a Pokemon, which is nice, but the ability works when other Pokemon cause Burns too.

Just getting Infernape on the bench can instantly place a lot of pressure on an opponent if you also have Pokemon like Salazzle in play. Infernape's not strong enough to be the centerpiece of a deck, but you could potentially get some use out of it in the right situations.

Rampardos

Rampardos is another Pokemon that is great in certain situations. Rampados's main appeal is its Wild Crash attack, which automatically Knocks Out any Basic Pokemon. That includes a lot of heavy hitters like Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX or Dialga-GX. Rampardos also does 120 damage against any Evolution Pokemon for just one energy.

The only issue is that Rampardos is basically a loaded gun that your opponent will know is coming. Rampardos is a Stage 2 Pokemon, so players will probably know that you're going to try countering their heavy hitters long before you can actually get it in play. Still, there's probably a few decks where Rampados will come in handy, especially if Dusk Mane Necrozma-GX becomes as prominent as many players suspect.