The TCG has two main victory conditions: take six prize cards (earned by defeating enemy creatures, i.e. pokemon, in combat), or deck out the opponent. A third one is essentially linked to the first one (exhausting the opponent's bench, i.e. creature reserve). In our bouts up to now, I've always brought one stall deck and one aggro deck. One point of interest compared to MtG is that in this format at least, there really isn't a "blowout" win condition unless one side gets an unlucky starting hand. If you're stall, you can't suddenly take six prizes in a turn. Nor are there "wrath effects" that clear the board, but because creature combat is limited to 1-on-1 (the "active" pokemon), with both players able to rotate their active creature into the reserve, board states are almost assured to have long-term strategic implications. Combat tricks usually involve rotating in/out -- or forcing your opponent to do so -- rather than adding bursts of damage, though the one card that does this (PlusPower) is tremendous. Healing is also potent, but usually costs energy cards.
Everybody who has played or read about this format knows how powerful the "trainer cards" are. The first reason is that they cost no resources, unlike most pokemon, which usually require "energy cards" attached to them -- which can regularly be done only once per turn -- lest they cannot attack or retreat. The second is that their effects are on the level of "discard your hand, draw seven" (Prof. Oak) or "discard two: fetch any card from your deck" (Computer Search) or
Energy Removal /
Super Energy Removal -- or
Lass, for that matter.
What isn't immediately apparent, especially if MtG is your usual kitchen-table fling, is that "discard your hand, draw seven" is fair and balanced in the format, to the point that it's not even best practice for all decks to run four copies. Simply put, there is almost no way to mill the opponent directly, and so the best way to achieve deck advantage is to coax the beatdown into playing Oak. The other reason is that while Item Finder can fetch trainers from the graveyard (for discarding two other cards) and Energy Retrieval or "Black Star" Mewtwo can fetch energy quite cheaply, there is no way in this format to recover a discarded pokemon; and in any case, since both players can generally expect to draw most, if not all of their deck in any given game of Base--Jungle(--Fossil), the pressure of long-term resource management is real. Moreover, discarding Oak to Oak feelsbadman.
The plethora of strong trainers and usually hair-thin margin of deck advantage also means that the "Pot of Greed" equivalent (Bill) isn't even a one-of in stall decks. Surprise and terror!
Of course, by and large, the generic strength of the trainer cards makes them staples or at least viable niche cards in both aggro and stall, even if finding the right amount for each is a secret art. What's interesting is that both sides use the same cards for different strategic objectives -- this is most apparent in the Energy Removals -- and that this is strongly interactive. Ideally, you want to remove your opponent's rarer flavour of energy or a Double Colorless Energy (the local Sol Ring), but with both players knowing this, baiting out ER on DCE becomes a tactic -- and it's great when you force your opponent to spend their SER afterwards in a less-than-comfortable position.
The heart of all the tactical interaction lies in the pokemon, of course. Some have to be placed on others ("evolved"). These generally flounder in the format, because their attacks are usually overcosted so they get trivially ER'd into uselessness, all the while your opponent can build up multiple actors. There are very notable exceptions, though. The non-evolvers are called Basics, and shape the format.
The generality by design, yet specificity by emergent "metagame" of the weakness/resistance/retreat cost system is ingenious and exemplary, and creates "second-order niches" for apparently-inferior cards all by itself. Here's an overview of the critters that my friend and I have sent into combat so far:
Hitmonchan
Basic / 70 HP (hitpoints) / Fighting type / weakness: Psychic (x2 damage) / retreat cost: 2 (energy)
JAB and SPECIAL PUNCH. The former requires 1 Fighting energy (the type system is substantially the MtG "color wheel") and inflicts 20 HP damage. The latter requires 2 Fighting + 1 Colorless (any), inflicting 40. To put it mildly, in this format with its Energy Removals, your opponent is not going to let anything have 3 energy attached to it, if they can help it, but this doesn't make the second attack worthless -- it's an urgent clock that forces out ER / SER earlier than your opponent might want it.
This is
the key "generic" basic of the format, even though it's actually not first-rate if you play with Fossil and the Black Star Mewtwo; nonetheless, all creatures must first measure up to Hitmonchan's simple, but effective toolkit. While Fighting hits the weaknesses of a good variety of other key actors, it comes up as a resistance quite often as well. Psychic weakness is laughably irrelevant in Base--Jungle, but becomes a lethal weak spot with Mewtwo in the format's pool, which has an intrinsic one-hit KO (OHKO) on Chan.
Another strike against Chan is that all the other Fighting-types are worthless; the next-best is Machop, which has 50 HP, retreat cost 1, and no SPECIAL PUNCH -- in effect, Hitmonchan Lite; this makes its strong "devotion" to Fighting energy a notable drawback.
Electabuzz
Basic / 70 HP / Electric type / weakness: Fighting / retreat cost: 2
Thundershock is a 10-damage hit for 1 Lightning energy that can paralyze on a coin-flip (i.e. target can't attack or retreat next turn). For 1 Lightning + 1 Colorless, Thunderpunch deals either 40 damage (coin lands on heads), or 30 with 10 to Electabuzz itself.
The Buzz thus takes ER much better than Hitmonchan, gets a 75% 2HKO on the crew of 70HP basics, and when the damage race is a lost cause, it gets potent disruption half the time. On the flip side, Electabuzz is also unpredictable in your own plans and Wigglytuff kills it more readily and without danger to itself than Hitmonchan. Obviously, Chan itself also poses a threat to this, which is why you usually see it paired up with Scyther or Mewtwo to counter Jackie. I'd argue that it's better than Chan, not least because it's the Basic with the best odds against Mewtwo.
Scyther (Jungle)
Basic / 70 HP / Grass type / weakness: Fire / resistance: Fighting (-30 damage) / retreat cost: 0 (!)
Swords Dance costs 1 Grass energy, and doubles the damage of Slash next turn (only). Slash costs 3 Colorless, dealing 30 damage. Scyther's sole damage-dealing attack looks costly, but is a perfect match for Double Colorless Energy. This sets up obvious pressure on your opponent simply by attaching any energy to it. Scyther doesn't even really need Grass energy to function, which is another specific advantage to it.
Due to its resistance, even energyless Scyther completely owns Hitmonchan simply by parking in front of it. Your opponent will have to switch or lose all control of the battlefield, and Hitmonchan is costly to retreat whereas Scyther does it for free. This makes it a desirable inclusion in any deck that wants an answer to Chan, while not being dead weight against other foes -- if, after taking a KO or playing Scoop Up or the like, you don't want to commit to any specific match-up yet, simply send in Scyther on the interim, and retreat when the time is right.
While Scy is not a great offensive pokemon (no 40-damage attack), it is a serviceable cleaner when resources have been exhausted on both sides.
Magmar (Fossil)
Basic / 70 HP / Fire type / weakness: Water / retreat cost: 1
Smokescreen deals 10 damage for 1 Fire energy and flips a coin; if heads, the opposing pokemon's attack does nothing next turn (this effect is on the mon, so retreating bypasses it). Smog deals 20 for 2 Fire and poisons (take 10 damage at the end of each player's turn; retreating ends the effect).
Water is nigh-on irrelevant in the format, so Magmar is the one Basic with no weakness in most match-ups. This allows a healthy Magmar to force nearly everything to switch, but Scyther especially has to run for the woods. Despite its seemingly defensive character, friend and I have found that Magmar's real strength lies in its absurdly good match-ups against every single
more defensive pokemon, while bringing some versatility and disruption (and low retreat cost) to all other match-ups. Stall decks hate this thing, because Smog doesn't care much about your disruption -- once the poison has been inflicted,
you are on the clock. This gives aggro a chance to turn the tables on the beatdown role, and cheaply control the field.
Magmar's main drawback is the very specific energy it demands, and Fire really has nothing else besides the decent Ponyta/Rapidash line and the very role-specific Moltres.
Mewtwo ("Black Star" Wizards Promo)
Basic / 70 HP / Psychic type / weakness: Psychic / retreat cost: 2
Energy Absorption costs 1 Psychic energy, and while it deals no damage, it allows you to attach two basic Energy cards from your discard pile to Mewtwo. Psyburn is the Psychic energy version of Hitmonchan's Special Punch.
The Energy Absorption effect is tremendous, combining itself handily with all the trainers demanding discards (Computer Search, Item Finder...) and allowing Mewtwo to bypass the per-turn energy limit "Land Lotus Juzam" style. Hilariously, the best answer to Mewtwo is sometimes your own Mewtwo, leading to a mutual forcing-out of Energy Removals which are necessary, yet inefficient here (and this makes Mewtwo great as well); the more consistent option, though, is to slam a Colorless pokemon with a Psychic resistance in front of it. Mr. Mime also works very well.
There is only one other good Psychic: Mew. See below. Edit: Come to think of it, I forgot Fossil Gastly.
Lickitung (Jungle)
Basic / 90 HP / Colorless type / weakness: Fighting / retreat cost: 3
Only the first attack matters. For 1 Colorless, Lick inflicts 10 and might paralyze. Lickitung's 90 HP and Mewtwo resistance make this move deceptively strong. If you run this, you had better pair it up with 4x Scoop Up, because its retreat cost is, in effect, prohibitive.
I repeat: this threatens to beat Mewtwo in this format. "Someone page TheSL." It can also exchange blows with Basics for a while, but it won't win against most of them. Lickitung's main purpose is to stall repeatedly through healing and disruption; it does this better than Chansey, Kangaskhan or Snorlax, which are similar in their roles, but far worse at disruption or thousand-cut threats. Core piece of all the stall decks in the format.
Wigglytuff (Jungle)
Evolved (Stage 1) / 80 HP / Colorless type / weakness: Fighting / resistance: Psychic / retreat cost: 2
Lullaby costs 1 Colorless and makes the defending pokémon fall asleep, making it unable to attack/retreat for an unpredictable number of turns (flip a coin after each player's turn; wakes up if heads). DO THE WAVE costs 3 Colorless and deals 10 damage plus 10 for each pokemon on your bench (i.e. the aforementioned reserve). This had better mean 60 at all times.
Wigglytuff evolves from Jigglytuff. This is Talking Time, you all know this. Jigglypuff is a decent Basic in its own right, if unplayable if not for its evolution; it has 50 HP, the same Lullaby, and can deal 20 for 2 Colorless. Lullaby buys it time if it's forced into the active position, and 50 HP save it from easy Jab / Thunderpunch OHKOs. Suffice to say that most evolving Basics are not even this capable of self-defense, which is another reason that the format is sparse on evolution.
Once Wiggly is in, though, you get to DO THE WAVE every turn to kill every relevant aggro Basic with a simple PlusPower (trainer, +10 damage for this turn) or with any prior damage. Mewtwo can't even strike back, and things like Lickitung still get 2HKO'd. Lullaby gets Wiggly a shot at bypassing enemy disruption and, more notably, Mr. Mime, which also can't touch Tuff under most circumstances.
This thing is the main reason why Hitmonchan remains relevant in Base/Jungle/Fossil, and the main stallbreaker in the format, as neither Lickitung nor Mr. Mime can stop this forever.
Mr. Mime (Jungle)
Basic / 40 HP / Psychic type / weakness: Psychic / retreat cost: 1
It has just one attack, Meditate: for 1 Psychic and 1 Colorless, it deals 10 damage plus 10 for each 10 damage already inflicted on the opposing pokemon. What catapults Mr. Mime into the competition is its Pokemon Power (= ability), Invisible Wall: attacks that would deal more than 20 damage to it simply don't deal any at all (but this stops working while Mime is paralyzed/asleep/confused; of these, only sleep really matters, because the others always vanish before you can attack again, and aside from attacks, nothing useful inflicts the other conditions). Scyther and Mewtwo are left scratching their heads, and Electabuzz, while probably winning, must deal 10 damage apiece. The situation is less clear against Wigglytuff, as Do The Wave most usually ends up blocked but Lullaby is a 25% shot to OHKO an asleep Mime with Do The Wave. Absurdly enough, Jigglypuff wipes the floor with Mr. Mime even more decisively. Mime also hates the presence of Muk, see below, and Fossil Magmar, which simply clicks Smog to win.
While Mime is thus unviable as the sole piece in your defense, it goes well with Lickitung. Also, much as Mime can be overwhelmed by Wigglytuff, it still
forces Tuff decks to play their Tuff and attach energy to it, setting them up for Energy Removal -- or Gust of Wind. They might threaten field advantage again soon, but you've won a resource management victory by all likelihood.
Ditto (Jungle)
Ditto has stats, but they usually don't matter because Ditto does what Ditto does, immediately turning into a copy of the current opposing pokémon in all respects. This effect subsides if Ditto gets slept/paralyzed/confused, making it a 50 HP standard-fare Colorless Basic with no attacks at all. Ditto has one major advantage, though, in that all energy attached to it is treated as providing energy of
any type -- extending to Double Colorless Energy, even, making it a sure bet to win tempo on Hitmonchan/Electabuzz, which regularly can't make use thereof.
On the flip side, if Ditto copies a 30HP basic with a 20-damage attack (such as Rattata), and the opponent has a PlusPower, it dies with very little glamour. This is a surprisingly useful 1-of tech.
Ditto is a decent option for both stall and aggro, although it doesn't help aggro much vs. stall and it doesn't help stall at all vs. Muk-sporting aggro, because Muk shuts off all Pokemon Powers, of which Ditto's transformation is one.
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I'll cut it short here for now, maybe I'll add Muk and Dodrio later. For now, "they're good" must suffice.
TLDR: The Base/Jungle/Fossil format is full of interactive, short-term tactics, generic fetchers for deck and discard pile, and rubberbanding without having complete blowouts; the card pool is small but offers many decisions both on quantity and quality; long-term resource management is well demanded (due to all the discards, Energy Removals, and little deck space for energy lest you lose on mons/trainers) and rewarded; unless someone's opening hand is unlucky, you're probably in for a long and tense game where skill matters far more than luck, and both players will see 90% of their decks at least. Play it!
Neither of us has yet found out how to stop Wigglytuff aggro consistently with stall. I won my Lickitung stall v. Wiggly-Muk game, but barely, because he got to Muk very late and made one tactical misstep with his Magmar vs. double Mimes.