The new Pokemon Trading Card Game expansion, Evolving Skies, launches next week! We’ve spent some time with the set. Whether you like powerful cards or just cool effects, the set might pique your interest! So what are the best Evolving Skies cards? It depends, but these are good candidates.
The most interesting cards
We’re big fans of Wishiwashi. The new card’s Group Power boosts its hit points from 30 to 180 if it’s loaded up with three energy, and you’ll want to do that. Schooling Shot, its lone attack, deals 30 damage… plus 30 more for each energy on it. A basic Pokemon that can do limitless damage? Yeah, that’s going to be fun.
Vaporeon VMAX’s Bubble Pod move lets you not only retrieve a Water creature from the discard pile, but also load it up with three energy. Conveniently, that works really well with Wishiwashi, too. And both are Rapid Strike, so it’s possible to build a fun, quick deck around these two.
Outside of Water decks, there might be a use for Spirit Mask? The item makes an opponent discard a card every time they damage that Pokemon, and like Rocky Helmet, it has value both as an active effect and a deterrent.
The coolest cards
The Evolving Skies set features a complement of special Eevee alternate-art cards, depicting them in their natural environments. It’s cool to see Leafeon V emerge from a pile of foliage or Espeon V levitating a bunch of books. Sylveon V’s selling cupcakes!
Also making an appearance in this expansion is Duraludon VMAX. Yep! The one that’s a full-on skyscraper and a dragon at the same time. Its moves are fun enough — it can’t be hurt if the opponent is using Special Energy — but the real value is in seeing this gosh dang building attacking fools.
Medicham V is cool-looking too, for sure, but what’s really cool is the effect. Its Yoga Loop move puts two damage counters on something, which isn’t much, but if it KOs something, you get another turn. If you’re dealing with a lot of retreating or scattershot bench damage, this could be strategically viable! But it’s probably more of a fun possibility than a reliable tactic.
The cutest cards
The Pokemon Trading Card Game is good at making up for its tiny creatures’ relative weakness by making them adorable. That’s definitely true with this new Teddiursa, licking its paw while melting our heart. The Little Bear Pokemon is hanging out in some flowers, and it’s ready to be your friend. Also making the cut here is Dwebble. It’s an impressive illustration job to make a rocky bug this endearing.
Pokemon aren’t the only cute things in Pokemon, though! Copycat is out here cosplaying as Galar icons like Marnie and Leon, and it looks like a whole lot of fun. There are different poses on the normal and alternate art versions, too.
We don’t know why this one hits us as particularly cute, but Leafeon VMAX is using its Dynamax size to help roll hay bales on a farm. It’s pawing at it like a yarn ball. We like it very much.
The most meta-relevant cards
Volcarona V’s Surging Flames attack does more damage for each Fire energy you’ve discarded, then shuffles them all back in the deck. So sure, it’s a one-shot sort of move! But it’s a really efficient way of getting those energy shuffled back in, and that’s a common need in a fire deck. There’s a lot of energy waste!
Suicune V might see some play, too. If it’s your Active Pokemon, you can draw another card each turn. There are some bench options for this, but more is helpful and Suicune’s a solid attacker to boot.
There are a few cards that accelerate your activities at the cost of not attacking. Sylveon V lets you search for an Item card. Leafeon V lets you play another energy. In Pokemon, there are regularly turns in which you can’t, or don’t, attack. These abilities put those to good use.
The Pokemon TCG Sword & Shield — Evolving Skies expansion launches on August 27, 2021. Check out our overview of the set for more.
