#gengar-ex

[pokemon-cards-hourly]

[pokemon-card-of-the-day]

Pokemon Card of the Day #1943: Gengar-EX (Phantom Forces)

Gengar-EX wasn’t going to do a lot of damage at once. It had damage output similar to Pokemon that were considered good about a decade before its release. What it did have was the combination of pivoting while it attacked and setting Poison. This gave it a chance to get out to something that could lock the opponent down when Active, and if that thing had Float Stone or some other way to switch out consistently there could be a rather scary combo. Such a Pokemon existed and fit in with Gengar-EX rather nicely by using the same type of Energy, meaning that there was a chance for a Pokemon that was quite weak when it came to damage.

170 HP was the lower of the typical Pokemon-EX HP numbers, though it was still enough bulk to take a hit most of the time. The Darkness Weakness wasn’t a common one, but it was a nasty problem with Yveltal decks being quite popular. Luckily, Gengar-EX was best near the end of the BCR-On format, which was where Darkness as a type was at a relative low point. The Fighting Resistance only took off 20 damage, but that was the removal of a Strong Energy or Muscle Band boost and could matter quite a bit considering how much that type relied on said perks. Gengar-EX itself needed 2 Energy to retreat, though Dark Corridor let it pivot out on its own and Mystery Energy could get rid of that in a pinch as well.

Night Attack let you put 3 damage counters on 1 of your opponent’s Pokemon, which could pick off a heavily-weakened Pokemon or a Joltik in a tight spot. The biggest problem here was that it was just 30 damage on a Pokemon-EX and it couldn’t pivot to keep a lock going, so you had to be sure that said damage was worth that risk.

Dark Corridor didn’t seem impressive at first. 60 damage was way below par for 3 Energy. Yes, Poison was added, and you could get somewhere with Muscle Band and Virbank City Gym, but if it wasn’t for the other effect it wouldn’t have been enough. Luckily, the attack had Gengar-EX switch with a Benched Pokemon. The typical play here was to pivot out to Trevenant, which prevented the opponent from using Items. Float Stone could let Trevenant retreat easily, and it wasn’t as vulnerable to Startling Megaphone due to the lock. This just kind of chained together turns where you were getting some progress and the opponent was hoping Supporters were enough, though it took a couple of turns to get going so a fast start could overwhelm it.

Gengar-EX probably shouldn’t have been as good as it was. It was by no means at the top tier, but it was one of those mid-tier options that had some nice tournament results late in the BCR-On format. This included a 5th place finish at Worlds 2015. Having Trevenant available as well as a small window where Darkness wasn’t quite as good was enough there, though the deck wasn’t as good in XY-On without Virbank City Gym and with far more Yveltal around. It was a nice, if short, run for Gengar-EX and it was a good choice for something that didn’t just rely on hitting as hard as possible.

[pokemon-cards-hourly]

[pokemon-cards-hourly]

[pokemon-cards-hourly]

[pokemon-cards-hourly]

[pokemon-cards-hourly]

[pokemon-cards-hourly]