60Cards

11/13/2019 by Nico Alabas

What’s up guys, this is Nico and today I’m going to give you my thoughts on how I think that the new expansion Cosmic Eclipse is going to influence the meta going into the Sao Paulo Internationals later this week, as well as tournaments further down the line. First, I will tell you about my top five cards from the set, so that we can continue with how I think those will influence the current decks, or maybe even create new ones all together. After that I will also go into other decks that not necessarily use any of my top cards, but get a big enough boost by Cosmic Eclipse to become new contenders, or stay at the top of the meta. 

 

 

 
My top five cards from Cosmic Eclipse 

Great Catcher 

Having any kind of gust effect in your deck has always been a great thing since the beginning of the Pokémon TCG, even back in the very first Base set in the form of Gust of Wind. The current format is being dictated by heaving hitting powerhouses, that use a lot of  Dedenne GX (UBO; 57)  to set up their board, so having access to a single card that’s able to target those and move them to the active spot seems like a pretty good deal, doesn’t it? Previously players had to either use  Custom Catcher (LT; 171)  which requires you to get two of them in your hand at a crucial moment, or to use cards like  Naganadel GX (UB; 160)  to snipe your targets on the opponent’s bench. Last can be played around by using Mew, so there’s absolutely no way that Great Catcher won’t influence the meta in a big way and force players to think even more about using heavy count of weak GX techs, or when to bench them. 
Chaos Swell (CoE; 187)  
Stadiums are a big part of the Pokémon Trading Card Game nowadays. Whether it might be  Power Plant (UBO; 183)  in various decks to disrupt your opponent’s ability to set up, or attack with  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71) ,  Lysandre Labs (FLI; 111)  to get rid of fairy charms versus  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130) , or even  Shedinja (LT; 95)  against Tord Reklev’s Regional Cologne winning version of  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71) ,  Giant Hearth (UB; 197)  in any fire deck, or  Viridian Forest (TM; 156)  in  Malamar (FLI; 51) .  Chaos Swell (CoE; 187)  is the incarnation of a counter stadium, not only getting rid of your opponent’s stadium, but also forcing them to use  Marshadow (UBO; 81)  or  Faba (LT; 173)  before getting to use any stadium again. This will surely make  Chaos Swell (CoE; 187)  a meta defining card that has always to be taken into account when building a deck from now on that relies on heavy stadium use. 

 
Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff GX 

In a metagame that was previously ruled my decks like  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)  and  Pikachu & Zekrom GX (TM; 33)  that both rely on benching high amounts of GX to execute their strategy at full power, having a heavy hitting answer in Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff GX, is exactly what some decks have been waiting for. Not only does it heavily punish decks that have to bench a lot of GX, but it also is incredibly versatile thanks to its typing. It can be used with any kind of energy acceleration like  Welder (UBO; 214) ,  Malamar (FLI; 51)  or  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156) , or just by manual attaching to it, forcing your opponent to try playing around it once it hits the bench. This card might not add a new layer to the deckbuilding process for a lot of decks, but it will definitely force some decks to be much more careful with their bench management in game. 

 
Arceus, Dialga & Palkia GX 

The only card in my top five that spawns an entirely new archetype,  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  looks to be a very promising attacker from Cosmic Eclipse. Enabling all of your attackers to deal an extra 30 Damage + taking an additional prize card just seems incredibly powerful, especially when you compare it to the likes of  Lucario & Melmetal GX (UBO; 120)  who only applies to your metal Pokémon and lets them take 30 less damage for the rest of the game.  Of course, it gets the added effect of discarding all energies attached to your opponent’s active Pokémon, but that still doesn’t compare to the power that  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  brings to the table when you get of its GX attack. So far the most promising archetype is a combination of  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  and  Keldeo GX (UB; 47)  that uses N’s Resolve to get off  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156) ’s GX attack as soon as turn one, to start taking kos with  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  until you eventually switch into  Keldeo GX (UB; 47)  which is super annoying to deal with for most decks, especially if you pair it with  Chaos Swell (CoE; 187)  to prevent your opponent from using  Power Plant (UBO; 183) . There are also some versions going on online that use  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  in combination with  Green's Exploration (UBO; 175) . The deck uses a slower approach to the concept and in my opinion definitely is the inferior version. I’m also very convinced that there will eventually be some degenerate combos with  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  and Double Dragon Energy in Expanded, but that’s a topic for a different article. 

 
Rosa 

Historically, most Supporters that search your deck for cards when you’re behind, or one of your Pokémon has been KOd, have always had a good place in the metagame. The likes of Twins and  Teammates (PRC; 141)  have been essential parts of some archetypes, or have seen play in other decks that don’t necessarily rely on them.  Teammates (PRC; 141)  until this day is still a significant card in the Expanded format, so I’m very convinced that Rosa will also find her place in the metagame. She might not be as powerful as  Teammates (PRC; 141)  that allow you to search your deck for any card, but being able to search your deck for any Pokémon, a Basic Energy and a Trainer Card (which includes Supporters and Stadium as well) is not that much of a downside, and in some cases even better if you need to find a 3-card combo that involves those three kinds of cards to either make a comeback, or maybe even end the game all together. 

 
Decks with Cosmic Eclipse 

Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  

As I previously mentioned,  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  spawned a new archetype involving itself (who would have thought?) and  Keldeo GX (UB; 47) . In my opinion the strongest way to play this deck is to have a super streamlined game plan with a couple of tech cards. 

Jirachi (TM; 99)   

One of the strongest consistency cards that you can put onto your board,  Jirachi (TM; 99)  is amazing in this deck because it already utilizes a lot of switching cards like four Switch and Mallow and Lana, who allow you to not just use  Jirachi (TM; 99)  for your early set-up but also throughout the game whenever you have a way to switch around, or if one of your Pokémon got KOd, so having it in the deck makes it a great asset in a variety of ways 

Keldeo GX (UB; 47)  

One of the main attackers in this deck and a powerful weapon to lock down your opponent thanks to its Ability. The majority of decks uses GX attackers and  Keldeo GX (UB; 47)  will force them to adept by adding non GX attackers, or a combination of  Marshadow (UBO; 81) / Faba (LT; 173)  and  Power Plant (UBO; 183)  to be able to deal with a  Keldeo GX (UB; 47)  that hits for 140 damage and takes an addition prize each time it takes a ko.  

 
Mallow and Lana 

Also, one of the most interesting cards from Cosmic Eclipse, Mallow and Lana is a super good addition for the  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  deck because it allows you to not only switch between your attackers and  Jirachi (TM; 99) , but also allows you to heal them. This can come in very handy in the turn after you’ve used your GX attack because your opponent will most likely hit into  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  so you get to heal it and hopefully swing with it right after. It also helps against cards like  Greninja GX (BW; 197)  or  Giratina (LT; 97)  that  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)  has to use to deal with  Keldeo GX (UB; 47)  because it obviously can’t make use of  Power Plant (UBO; 183) , even if it would like to.

 

 
 
Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  

Much like  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71) ,  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  doesn’t gain a lot of new cards from the new set, but opposing to  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71) , its matchups get slightly better which can put it in a better spot than it was in the previous format. Some lists even included Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff GX which makes it easier to beat decks like  Reshiram and Charizard GX (UBO; 20)  or  Pikachu & Zekrom GX (TM; 33)  that have the necessary tools to beat  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130) , but also often have to play down a lot of GX, so that might be a tech to consider, depending on which matchups are being expected. 
 

 
Chaos Swell (CoE; 187)  

Just like  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156) ,  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  can make great use of a card that prevents your opponent from using their stadiums. In this case it’s not there to get rid of  Power Plant (UBO; 183) , but of  Lysandre Labs (FLI; 111)  instead which often is the only out that your opponent has to playing around. The combination of  Power Plant (UBO; 183) ,  Chaos Swell (CoE; 187)  and  Fairy Charm (Psychic) (LT; 175)  make it incredibly difficult for  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)  to keep up with all the tools that  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  brings to the table. 

 
 
Mallow and Lana 

Just like in  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156) , switching and healing your big Tag Team GXs is super powerful and  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130) ’s “control” kind of nature makes it the perfect deck to abuse that in order to become even more annoying for your opponent thanks to a healing card that is “infinitely” loop able by  Lusamine (CIN; 96) , which we will get to in a bit. It still makes sense to play Switch in  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  because it can still be grabbed by  Green's Exploration (UBO; 175)  and be used in the same turn, but Mallow and Lana is a great multi-purpose inclusion for  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  to help improve matchups where  Power Plant (UBO; 183)  or any of your Fairy Charms don’t do the job.  

 
Lusamine (CIN; 96)  

As mentioned above,  Lusamine (CIN; 96)  is a great way to keep using your Mallow and Lana to heal your Pokémon which is especially nice thanks to  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130) ’s attack Kaleidostorm which allows you to move your energies to the bench, so that your Mallow and Lana almost works as a replacement to  Aromatisse (XY; 93)  and  Max Potion (GRI; 128)  who are powerful assets to  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  in the Expanded format. It also allows you to recycle all of your Stadiums so that you don’t have to play incredible high amounts of those, as well as your other Supporters that help with either consistency or utility in his deck. 

 
Faba (LT; 173)  

While  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  is one of those decks that try to use annoying stadiums against you, it also has an incredibly rough time against  Keldeo GX (UB; 47)  with  Chaos Swell (CoE; 187) . While other decks can use multiple copies of  Marshadow (UBO; 81)  to get rid of it,  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  doesn’t have that privilege because it’s still a  Green's Exploration (UBO; 175)  deck and therefore can’t use any Pokémon with abilities because it will always put it at a risk of starting with it. That’s the only real use of  Faba (LT; 173)  though, since special energies don’t play a significant role in the current format, and most tools don’t affect  Gardevoir & Sylveon GX (UBO; 130)  too much; of course, there’s still the option to get rid of them in some situations. If you don’t expect any  Keldeo GX (UB; 47)  decks however, I would suggest swapping out  Faba (LT; 173)  for a different matchup dependent tech cards like  Wait and See Hammer (LT; 192) , additional Mallow and Lana or additional stadiums. 

 
Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)

Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)  is not a deck that gains a lot of stuff from Cosmic Eclipse, but it will have to adept a lot to the new metagame to not fall completely short to those decks using Mega Lopunny & Jigglypuff GX or an increasing amount of  Power Plant (UBO; 183)  to counter  Keldeo GX (UB; 47) , which also sets back  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71) . 
 

Giratina (LT; 97)   

Giratina (LT; 97)  fills the same function as  Greninja GX (BW; 197) , but can be used without having to add an extra basic energy typing that you otherwise won’t be able to use. The downside is of course, that you have to power up an additional attacker as you can’t simply use  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)  anymore against the likes of  Keldeo GX (UB; 47) . It’s definitely not a super amazing attacker in this deck, but a necessary evil if you try to survive with  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)  in a metagame that will be full of  Keldeo GX (UB; 47) . 

 
Mallow and Lana 

Just like any other deck on this list,  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)  also makes great use of Mallow and Lana, thanks to its natural bulkiness as a 270 HP Pokémon, as well as the added utility that  Solgaleo GX (BW; 104) ’s Turbo Strike attack bring with it. 

 
Weakness Guard Energy (UB; 213)  

Inspired by Tord Reklev’s winning list from Cologne Regionals,  Weakness Guard Energy (UB; 213)  has become a very popular replacement for  Jirachi GX (UB; 79)  that is much less vulnerable against  Power Plant (UBO; 183) , even though it doesn’t seem like  Malamar (FLI; 51)  runs a lot of those nowadays anyways. Getting rid of weakness is always nice, but sometimes it can get problematic to find the  Weakness Guard Energy (UB; 213)  Energy. Tord used high counts of  Red's Challenge (UBO; 184)  and  Hapu (UB; 200) , but those were significant for his  Shedinja (LT; 95)  strategy, so it’s not as easy to incorporate them into a standard  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)  list. With Cosmic Eclipse, Guzma & Hala might be a good alternative to fill that void by not only granting access to special energies, but also to stadiums, which might help  Mewtwo & Mew GX (UB; 71)  against those  Power Plant (UBO; 183)  decks. 

 
 
Conclusion 

As you might have noticed by this article, I think that Cosmic Eclipse will mostly be a power boost for the decks that we already know from this format and not change the metagame up too drastically deck wise.  Arceus & Dialga & Palkia Tag Team GX (CoE; 156)  however seems like a very promising new archetype that I’m sure we’ll see a lot of at future tournaments.  

I hope I was able to give you a good insight on what to expect from Cosmic Eclipse and the metagam going into Sao Pualo Internationals later this week. If you want to keep updated about my tournaments, streaming or coaching, make sure to follow me on Twitter @LimitlessNico.
 

 

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