Damage Control

Damage Augmentation

Pokémon

Inteleon CRE 43
Inteleon VMAX FST 79
Radiant Hawlucha ASR 81
Rapidash SIT 22
Hawlucha SVI 118

Items, Supporters, and Special Energy

Single Strike Energy BST 141
Power Tablet FST 236
Grant ASR 144

Pokémon Tool Cards

Supereffective Glasses ASR 152
Earthen Seal Stone SIT 154
Defiance Band SVI 169
Vitality Band SVI 197
Choice Belt PAL 176

Stadium Cards

Old Cemetery CRE 147
Gapejaw Bog ASR 142

SPECIAL CONDITION APPLIERS AND EXTENDERS

Weepinbell BST 2
Paldean Clodsire ex PAL 130

HP Boost

Kricketune ASR 10
Bravery Charm PAL 173

HP Reduction

Toxtricity FST 108

Damage Reduction and Weakness Removal

Pokémon

Oricorio FST 42
Dunsparce FST 193
Radiant Gardevoir LOR 69

Trainers and Special Energy

Fantina LOR 157
V Guard Energy SIT 169

Damage Redistribution

Damage Pump LOR 156

Walling and Protection

Pokémon

Mimikyu V BST 62
Latias FST 193
Manaphy BRS 41
Diancie ASR 68
Miltank ASR 126
Mimikyu PAL 97

Single Strike Energy provides Energy for Single Strike Pokémon in addition to the additional 20 damage it adds to a Single Strike Pokémon’s attacks. What’s more, Single Strike Energy can be accelerated by Houndoom BST 96’s Single Strike Roar ability, make it a cinch to pile several Single Strike Energy onto the same Pokémon in just one turn, quickly powering it up with a potent boost to its damage output.

Decks that include Single Strike Energy tend to run 4 copies of the card and will also often run 3-4 copies of Urn of Vitality, a card that recovers Single Strike Energy by shuffling up to two discarded Single Strike Energy back into the deck.

Power Tablet is a stackable boost to the damage of your Fusion Strike Pokémon’s attacks. Although there is no means of recovering Power Tablet, the damage boost it provides is often enough to push a two-hit knockout into a one-hit knockout.

Decks that include Power Tablet run 4 copies of the card.

Supereffective Glasses offers an alternative means of boosting an attack’s damage for decks that run a toolbox of attackers of different types and for decks that are built around Pokémon that can hit for more than 1 type of Weakness each.

Most decks would prefer to run Choice Belt over Supereffective Glasses, but those that opt for it would include 2-3 copies of the card.

Defiance Band boosts the damage of all of your Pokémon against all other Pokémon by 30, provided you have more Prize cards remaining than your opponent does. This makes it easier to get 1 hit knockouts against these Pokémon, but also makes it less difficult for Pokémon with a lower damage ceiling to take two-hit knockouts against them.

Most decks won’t run Defiance Band because it’s so situationally useful, but those that do tend to run 1-2 copies of the card.

Vitality Band is a simple, solid +10 damage against your opponent’s Pokémon. If you find that Vitality Band matters more for the math against decks you’re facing than Choice Belt, Vitality Band may be worth a look.

Most decks don’t include any copies of Vitality Band.

Old Cemetery is a Stadium card that punishes non-Psychic decks for doing what they must—powering up their attacks by attaching Energy cards from their hand to their Pokémon. This damage can be used as additional chip damage to wear away at an opposing Pokémon’s HP or as a means of putting damage counters on a player’s own Pokémon to boost the damage of attacks that are reliant on it having more damage counters on it.

Decks that include Old Cemetery generally run 3-4 copies of the card.

Gapejaw Bog is a way to get damage counters where they’re wanted—either on your own Pokémon or on opposing Pokémon that are played down from your opponent’s hand. Gapejaw Bog is most commonly used to help put damage on its own player’s Pokémon to make attacks reliant on damage counters being on that player’s Pokémon more potent, but its 2 damage counters may still make the difference between a 1- and 2-hit knockout against your opponent’s Pokémon.

Decks that include Gapejaw Bog tend to include 2-3 copies of the card.

Weepinbell BST 2 is another means of applying Special Conditions to your opponent’s Active Pokémon. In the case of Weepinbell’s Dangerous Mucus ability, it provides the Burned and Poisoned Special Conditions, which ultimately contribute up to 30 damage during each Pokémon Checkup. These Special Conditions may also prove useful if your Pokémon’s attack does additional damage if your opponent’s Active Pokémon is affected by a Special Condition.

Decks don’t often include Weepinbell BST 2, but those that do tend to include 2-3 copies alongside 2-3 copies of Bellsprout, the Basic Pokémon.

Paldean Clodsire ex PAL 130 applies the Poisoned Special Condition to your opponent’s Active Pokémon if there is a Stadium card in play. If your Pokémon needs your opponent’s Active Pokémon to be afflicted by a Special Condition in order to do additional damage—or if the additional damage provided by the Poisoned special condition proves relevant for your deck’s strategy—Paldean Clodsire ex may be a useful inclusion.

Decks don’t often include this card, but those that do would likely include 2-3 copies along with 3-4 copies of Paldean Wooper, the Basic Pokémon.

Kricketune ASR 10 can be used to push the HP of your Grass-type Pokémon out of 1-hit or 2-hit knockout range, making them just that much better at surviving an additional turn to get more damage in.

Not every deck that can run Kricketune will run it, but decks that do will likely include 2 copies of the card, in addition to 2 copies of Kricketot, the Basic Pokémon.

Bravery Charm provides a boost to HP for your Basic Pokémon—a boost that can help push your Pokémon out of the range of easy knockout. HP Boosting cards like this one are most often useful when they can push a Pokémon out of the range of being knocked out in a single hit, but forcing a knockout to take an additional turn can often be a boost to a deck in need of the improved prize trade. Most decks don’t need an HP-boosting card like this one, but you may find that either this card or another like it may help improve your deck’s win rate.

Decks that run it tend to include 2-3 copies of the card.

Oricorio FST 42 provides a small quantity of damage mitigation for your Fusion Strike Pokémon. What’s more, Oricorio’s Glistening Droplets can be used in conjunction with Fusion Strike Energy to spread damage counters to set up or finish off knockouts on your opponent’s Pokémon.

Oricorio finds its home primarily in Fusion Strike decks focused around Mew VMAX. Such decks tend to run just 1 copy of Oricorio.

Dunsparce FST 207 removes the Weakness from your Colorless Pokémon. If your deck is built around a Colorless attacker with a Weakness that is prevalent in the current meta, Dunsparce may be a good inclusion to help ensure your deck isn’t taken down early by its Weakness.

Decks that run Dunsparce will include just 1-2 copies of the card.

Fantina is an optional inclusion for decks that make use of the Lost Engine (Comfey LOR 79, Colress’s Experiment, and Mirage Gate). Provided you have 10 or more cards in the Lost Zone, Fantina reduces the damage any of your Pokémon take from Pokémon V (including Pokémon VMAX, V-UNION, and VSTAR) by 120, potentially preventing your opponent from taking a critical knockout.

Only decks focused on interaction with the Lost Zone and the Lost Engine are likely to ever use Fantina. Those decks will sometimes run 1-2 copies of the card.

V Guard Energy both provides Colorless Energy to power up the attacks of the Pokémon it’s attached to and provides a bit of damage mitigation from attacking Pokémon V for any Pokémon it’s attached to. Unlike Stone Fighting Energy, however, the damage reduction of V Guard Energy doesn’t stack with additional copies of V Guard Energy attached to the same Pokémon.

Decks that include V Guard Energy tend to run 1-3 copies of the card.

Mimikyu V BST 62’s Dummy Doll ability serves as a wall against Pokémon without Shred-like attacks on your opponent’s turn following the turn it’s played down. If you can get Mimikyu into the Active Spot, you can force your opponent to find a gusting card or something else that forces the Mimikyu V out of the Active Spot, like Escape Rope.

Mimikyu V isn’t being included in any decks at the moment.

Latias FST 193 prevents the damage of any non-Shred-like attack from Pokémon VMAX done to it after it uses its Dyna Barrier attack. If your opponent has overextended or runs no adequate counters to Latias and its Dyna Barrier attack, they may find themselves in a bit of a bind to take knockouts against you and your Pokémon, burning their critical resources like gusting cards to try to escape Latias’ walling effect.

Latias finds its home primarily in Fusion Strike decks focused around Mew VMAX. Those decks tend to run just 1 copy of the card, with some running a total of 2.

Manaphy BRS 41’s Wave Veil ability means that if your opponent’s strategy is focused on knocking out vulnerable benched Pokémon, they’ll have to first knock out your Manaphy to advance their strategy. Manaphy blocks any damage done to your Benched Pokémon by the attacks of your opponent’s Pokémon but does not prevent the placement of damage counters—whether by attack or by any ability.

Decks that include Manaphy tend to include just 1 copy but may push it to 2 copies if their bench Pokémon tend to be especially vulnerable or especially critical to their deck’s strategy.

Diancie ASR 68 works as a sponge to make it easier to power-up your Benched Basic Pokémon in the earliest parts of the game. When in the Active Spot, Diancie’s Princess’s Curtain Ability makes Boss’s Orders have no effect on your Benched Basic Pokémon, so you can feel free to attach energy to your heart’s content.

Be aware, however, that Diancie does not protect against cards like Escape Rope. To avoid losing the protection of Princess’s Curtain to an Escape Rope, you’ll need a second Diancie on the bench to take over the job.

Many decks would never so much as consider Diancie. However, decks that run it tend to run 2 copies of the card.

Miltank ASR 126 can be quite the nuisance for decks that don’t have an answer to its Miracle Body Ability. The Ability can prevent decks that don’t have a means of cutting through it, like a Shred or Swift-style attack or a non-V attacker, from taking any further Prize cards once Miltank is out. Further still, Miltank’s Rout can start eating into the HP of the Defending Pokémon and the Miltank player can gradually take Prize cards of their own.

Most decks won’t run Miltank, but those that do tend to include 2 copies of the card.

Mimikyu PAL 97 can be quite the nuisance for decks that don’t have an answer to its Safeguard Ability. The Ability can prevent decks that don’t have a means of cutting through it, like a Shred or Swift-style attack or a non-V or non-ex attacker, from taking any further Prize cards once Mimikyu is out.

Most decks won’t run Mimikuyu, but those that do tend to include just 1 copy of the card.