Gusting and Repulsion
List of Important Gusting and Repulsion Cards
Gusting
Supporter
☆ Boss's Orders RCL 154
☆ Serena SIT 164
Item
Pokémon Catcher SSH 175
Cross Switcher FST 230
Pokémon
Umbreon VMAX EVS 95
Leafeon VSTAR PR-SW 195
Mawile VSTAR SIT 71
Repulsion
Escape Rope BST 125
Tornadus BRS 126
Gusting
Gusting—or switching the opponent’s Active Pokémon with a Benched Pokémon of your choosing—is a critical part of any deck that intends to take knockouts. Often, it won’t be possible to knock out our opponent’s Pokémon in a single hit and our opponent can take advantage of the situation by hiding their damaged Pokémon on the bench. Damaged Pokémon and otherwise vulnerable Pokémon are prime targets for gusting and can make an opponent think twice before unnecessarily benching a new Pokémon.
The gusting effect takes its name from the original gusting card in the Pokémon Trading Card Game—Gust of Wind BS 93.
Supporters
☆ COMMON INCLUSION
In terms of its utility, Boss’s Orders is unmatched in the Standard format. Its effect offers gusting against any benched Pokémon, opening up the opportunity to knock out any vulnerable target.
Nearly every deck runs 1-4 copies of Boss’s Orders.
☆ COMMON INCLUSION
Serena works well because of the huge flexibility it offers. Although not especially strong as a draw card, it does still offer a means of drawing cards when other, stronger options aren’t available to you. Whereas Boss’s Orders is a card that can’t draw you cards in an otherwise dead hand, Serena can. And like Boss’s Orders, Serena offers the option to gust one of your opponent’s benched Pokémon. However, Serena’s gusting power is limited to benched Pokémon V (including VSTAR, VMAX, and V-UNION.) Single prize Pokémon and Pokémon ex aren’t possible gusting targets for Serena.
Decks that often find themselves gusting Pokémon that aren’t Pokémon V won’t find a lot of use for Serena. However, many decks will run 1-2 copies of the card.
Items
Pokémon Catcher is largely inadequate as a gusting card. Although like Boss’s Orders it offers a means of gusting any target Pokémon from the opponent’s bench, it does so only if you flip heads. Instead of a having a guaranteed gust, you have a 50% chance to successfully gust. This means that a tails can literally end up being the difference between winning and losing a game.
Pokémon Catcher should basically only be considered as a budget alternative to Boss’s Orders or as an additional gusting option in addition to 4 copies of Boss’s Orders.
Cross Switcher is requires a two-card combo (two copies of Cross Switcher) for its gust-and-switch effect. However, as Cross Switcher doesn’t use up your Supporter for the turn, some decks may find Cross Switcher to be an ideal gusting option and may include it in addition to several copies of Boss’s Orders.
Decks that run Cross Switcher nearly always include 4 copies of the card.
Pokémon
Umbreon VMAX EVS 95, like Ariados DAA 103, is a gusting option that has an ability—Dark Signal—that triggers upon evolving. Unlike Ariados’ Spider Net ability, Dark Signal works to gust any Benched Pokémon.
Decks that can make use of Umbreon VMAX’s Dark Signal as a gusting option can find themselves able to gust and use another Supporter card—like a draw Supporter—on the same turn, buying them valuable resources to follow up with further knockouts on subsequent turns.
Leafeon VSTAR PR-SW 195 is a gusting option that has a VSTAR Power—Ivy Star—that can be used when it is needed. It is, in effect, a Boss’s Orders but without the need to use it as your Supporter card for the turn.
Decks that can make use of Leafeon VSTAR’s Ivy Star as a gusting option can find themselves able to gust and use another Supporter card—like a draw Supporter—on the same turn, buying them valuable resources to follow up with further knockouts on subsequent turns.
Mawile VSTAR SIT 71 is a gusting option that has a VSTAR Power—Star Rondo—that can be used when it is needed. It is, in effect, a Guzma but without the need to use it as your Supporter card for the turn. You choose your opponent’s new Active Pokémon from among their Benched Pokémon and the Mawile that used Star Rondo moves to your Active Spot.
Decks that can make use of Mawile VSTAR’s Star Rondo as a gusting option can find themselves able to gust and use another Supporter card—like a draw Supporter—on the same turn, buying them valuable resources to follow up with further knockouts on subsequent turns.
If you find yourself unsure of which cards above are the best fit for your deck, try the General Gusting Set below. Once you’ve gotten familiar with your deck, you can come back to your gusting choices and tweak them so that they work even better for you and your strategy.
| General Gusting Set |
| 3 Boss's Orders RCL 154 |
Repulsion
Repulsion, like gusting, can be a helpful addition to your deck. In some cases, it doesn’t matter what the new Active Pokémon is—just that it is a different Active Pokémon. Repulsion is an effect that forces your opponent to switch their Active Pokémon with one of their benched Pokémon—unlike gusting, it is your opponent who chooses the new Active Pokémon instead of you. Repulsion takes its name from item Repel in the video games and from the card that came to represent it in the Trading Card Game, Repel SUM 130.
Escape Rope is a flexible switching option as, in addition to giving you a means of switching your Active Pokémon without needing to pay that Pokémon’s retreat cost, Escape Rope also gives you a means of forcing your opponent to choose a new Active Pokémon of their own.
Decks that include Escape Rope tend to include 1-3 copies.
Tornadus BRS 126’s Sudden Cyclone ability kicks your opponent’s Active Pokémon from the Active Spot in favor of some other Pokémon from their bench. Although you don’t get the choice of which Pokémon becomes the new Active Pokémon as you would with a gusting effect, Tornadus’ Sudden Cyclone does mean that if your opponent’s Active Pokémon has a walling effect on it, you have a way around it without needing to burn your Supporter card for the turn on a Boss’s Orders.
Decks don’t often include Tornadus, but a deck that would include Tornadus would most likely include just a single copy.