The best cards in Pokemon TCG: Stellar Crown

The Pokemon TCG is evolving thanks to its newest expansion and some powerful new cards, and Stellar Crown is making waves with several new potential deck archetypes. A few cards should push existing decks to new heights, too. 

To give you an idea of what to look out for, here are some of the best Stellar Crown cards in the new set and why they could shake up the Pokemon TCG (as I've mentioned before, I think Stellar Crown sets up the next era of the Pokemon TCG beautifully). Want to make what is already one of the best card games better? This is how.

Terapagos ex

It’s rare that the mascot Pokemon of a Pokemon TCG set is also its strongest card, but that looks to be the case with Terapagos ex. Not only is the card’s Secret Illustration Rare variant the most expensive card in the set, Terapagos ex also looks to be a disruptive force in the metagame. The Pokemon’s Crown Opal attack can block all damage from Basic non-Colorless Pokemon, which shuts down both Iron Thorns ex and Raging Bolt ex decks.  The card is augmented by several other cards in the deck, including Glass Trumpet and Area Zero Underdepths.

Joltik

Joltik is another potential game changer thanks to its Jolting Charge move. For just one energy (and an almost guaranteed knockout), Joltik can accelerate four energy from a player’s deck and attach them to any of their Pokemon.

Galvantula ex

If Joltik survives its first turn, it can evolve into the intriguing Galvantula ex, which is designed to deal lots of damage to Pokemon ex and Pokemon V cards and prevent opponents from playing any Item cards with its Fulgurite move. Discarding three energy in exchange for blocking Item play for a turn is a pretty steep cost, but some players almost certainly will try to build around Galvantula ex and its tiny pre-evolved form. 

Hydrapple ex

Hydrapple ex might not be the star of Stellar Crown, but players are already looking to combine its Ripening Charge ability with Teal Mask Ogerpon ex to flood the board with Grass Energy and damage. Both Teal Mask Ogerpon ex and Hydrapple ex have abilities that let players attach additional Grass Energy to Pokemon, with different extra benefits. Teal Mask Ogerpon ex allows for extra card draw, while Hydrapple ex heals 30 damage. The key to this combo is to use Teal Mask Ogerpon ex to set up the board and then finish with Hydrapple ex, whose Syrup Storm attack deals 30 damage for every Grass Energy attached to a player’s Pokemon. It’s unclear if Hydrapple ex can actually make a major impact in the metagame, but this deck looks to be a ton of fun when it goes off.

Briar

While Pokemon cards are flashier, Briar might be the card to turn an already popular deck into a dominant one. Briar can only be used when an opponent has 2 Prize cards remaining in play and allows a player to take an extra card if they Knock out a Pokemon with a Tera Pokemon ex card. This card was made for the Charizard ex deck, which already deals maximum damage in the late game with a move that deals extra damage for every prize an opponent has taken. If an opponent only has two prizes, players use Briar to "lock in" a win and then finish things off using Charizard ex. Plus, players can set up Briar thanks to the recently introduced Dusknoir, which deals 130 damage with its ability at the cost of being knocked out. So, players can use Dusknoir to force their opponent to drop from 3 prizes to 2, and then use Briar to set up their win condition. This is very situational, but potentially very powerful.  

Feel like taking a break from Pokemon for a little bit? Don't miss our guides to the best board games and the best tabletop RPGs.