Images credited to The Pokémon Company
Triumphant Light, the recently released 75-card mini-set for Pokémon TCG Pocket, has some bona fide bangers within it! Of course, with every card game that has a random factor to its collection, some cards aren’t spectacular (be that for the long-term or just yet).
As such, we here at Card Gamer are, naturally, professionally obliged to cover the best of the best cards within this PTCPG set. So with that in mind, here are the five best cards from the Triumphant Light mini-set, as well as one set of Honorable Mentions.
Honorable Mention: The “Link” Cycle
Within Triumphant Light, we received a cycle of cards with Abilities that are applicable only while a copy of Arceus (or Arceus ex) is in play on your side of the field. These Pokémon Abilities all have a shared naming convention with the term “Link,” as well as a similar special feature to their card frame. These cards are fairly powerful, but get even better when the requisite of having Arceus in play is met.
The key reasoning behind the “Link” cards only being Honorable Mentions is twofold. For one, the Link cards absolutely need some form of Arceus to be fully viable. This makes viability difficult for free-to-play PTCGP players. Secondly, many of these cards are largely around the same power level. Since they’re in a cycle, they’re fine to lump together… Just not as a top-numbered pick on this list. Even so, they’re a strong addition to the game and one that will likely stick around for a good while!
#5. Garchomp ex
Our #5 pick on this list is a Pokémon ex that we previously covered in our first deck tech of the Triumphant Light season. Garchomp ex is a cutthroat Pokémon that for many needs no introduction. Garchomp was Cynthia‘s “ace” in the 4th Generation Pokémon video games. Cynthia is widely regarded as one of the strongest Pokémon Trainers in the mainline video games of the franchise, and often gives players some pretty wild memories when they hear one specific piano chord set.
Suffice it to say, Garchomp ex blows the Space-Time Smackdown iteration of the Pokémon right out of the water. As a proficient “sniper” card, Garchomp ex can damage opposing Pokémon no matter where they’re currently situated. Additionally, the concept that Gible, Garchomp’s Basic stage, essentially has no weakness (depending on the version you use) means setup for Garchomp ex is simple and effective.
The key reason Garchomp ex isn’t much higher on the list has to do with two things. For starters, it’s weak to one of the strongest Pokémon types out right now, the Grass-type. Second, its role as a Pokémon ex hurts it somewhat. We’ll revisit this shortly; but for the time being, we’re content putting Garchomp ex at #5.
#4. Leafeon ex
Coming up at #4 on our list is Leafeon ex. One of a large variety of Eevee evolutions, Leafeon is, understandably by name, Eevee’s Grass-type evolution.
In addition to having a strong 70-damage attack in Solar Beam, Leafeon ex also acts as extreme support for Grass-type decks utilizing Celebi ex or Exeggutor ex, two of the scariest Pokémon ex at this time. Leafeon ex does what Grass-type decks do best, which is add extra Grass Energy to the board. Paired with a Retreat Cost of only one Energy, Leafeon can easily Retreat and blow out the opponent with whatever Pokémon it added Grass Energy to. What’s more, Leafeon ex doesn’t need more than one Grass Energy itself, which has led to some wacky decks that only use other Energy types! Versatility is key here, and Leafeon ex has that in spades.
#3. Irida
Irida, a Supporter Trainer card, is our #3 choice on this list. Because it’s a Trainer card, it’s versatile (see above). While its application may look more niche than other Supporters at first sniff, Irida is deceptively powerful.
Note that Irida does not heal your Water-type Pokémon, but rather, the card heals every Pokémon of yours that has Water Energy attached to it. For that reason, this card is a major part of what makes Leafeon ex so strong. Furthermore, Irida is great in Water-type decks as well, to the extent that she may be even more helpful in that type of deck than Misty.
While this is true, we’ve saved some even stronger cards for the top two slots in this list.
#2. Arceus ex
Let’s face it; sooner or later, Arceus ex had to rear its head on this Triumphant Light list. Right now, Arceus ex is showing up on virtually every “flavor-of-the-month” list in the metagame. The top deck at the time of writing could well be a Dialga ex list using Arceus ex as additional offense. While the Pokémon TCG Pocket metagame is apt to change like the weather, this much is fairly constant: Arceus ex is a fantastic card.
The reason this card is so strong right now is similar to why Pikachu ex was so good early on during the Genetic Apex metagame. Most of the time in Pokémon TCG Pocket, you want a full Bench. As such, Arceus ex rewards you for doing what you should be doing in this game. Add to that the benefit of being immune to any Special Condition and Arceus ex becomes a powerhouse that simply cannot be slowed down.
Of course, there was one Pokémon in Triumphant Light that triumphed over Arceus ex, if you’ll pardon the expression. What is it? Well…
Our #1 Pick In Pokémon TCG Pocket Triumphant Light Is…
Sudowoodo! Please hold your applause.
The reason that Sudowoodo, a Basic non-ex Pokémon, is the best card in Triumphant Light is simple. It stems from the notion that it can do immense damage to Pokémon ex. With Arceus ex being the strongest Pokémon ex out of the set and being weak to Fighting-types, Sudowoodo can easily two-shot it with one Fighting Energy. It can oftentimes easily outspeed Arceus ex before the God of all Pokémon can even get to two Energy. For this reason, many of the metagame’s greats fear a Sudowoodo starting the game off in the opposing Active Spot. Pair Sudowoodo with something like Garchomp ex and things can get out of hand really quickly.
Granted, while Sudowoodo probably won’t always keep this #1 title as more and more sets come out, it’ll probably almost always be a factor for players to keep an eye on when building their decks.
Rage, Rage Against The Light
And now, dear readers, allow us to open the floor to you. What Triumphant Light cards have you seen success with outside of this Top 5 list? And, are you enjoying the Pokémon TCG Pocket metagame? Feel free to sound off in the comments!
Wanna see what’s going on in the world of paper Pokémon TCG? Then check out our analysis of the top decks at recent tournaments.
