Summary
- Pokemon TCG Pocket’s card collection is expanding fast, with rumors of a new set in April.
- Rare Candy could pose balance issues in the game by bypassing Stage 1 critters.
- Adding Rare Candy may be a blessing and a curse, potentially breaking the meta in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Although the game has been out for just four months, Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s collection of cards is already quite impressive, and it’s bound to grow larger still in the coming months – especially with set A3 being rumored to launch at the end of April. There are many hypothetical cards that could make for great additions to Pokemon TCG Pocket, such as upgrades to the Poke Ball, such as Mega Ball or Ultra Ball, including concepts that the physical version of the game already includes. Yet, because Pokemon TCG Pocket has different deckbuilding rules and criteria, it’s hard to say if some cards from the physical version would end up in the game, particularly one existing card.
Most Pokemon cards are very different from the physical version of the game, which makes sense considering how Pokemon TCG Pocket is balanced differently in terms of attacks, HP, and costs. Yet, the game often struggles to make Stage 2 critters actually viable in meta decks, and that’s because drawing all the critters in such an evolutionary line can be tricky at best, very unreliable at worst. As such, if the game ever adds Pokemon TCG‘s Rare Candy, it may have a hard time making this card balanced.
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Why Pokemon TCG Pocket May Struggle to Balance Rare Candy
As it stands, Rare Candy allows players to put a Stage 2 Pokemon card on top of a basic Pokemon from the corresponding evolutionary line, skipping Stage 1 critters and their associated card altogether. The limitation is that it can’t be done on turn one or on the same turn the chosen basic Pokemon entered play. If this same effect is added to Pokemon TCG Pocket, it may end up breaking the game in fundamental ways. Examples include:
- Remove the need for Stage 1 Pokemon in favor of Rare Candy, as having two copies of both these cards would take a lot of space in the deck
- Make certain combos possible much earlier, such as Moltres Ex using Inferno Dance on the first turn players have one available Energy, and potentially attack with Charizard Ex on the following turn with some luck
There are good reasons for Rare Candy to be added, and the fact that the game currently struggles a bit with Stage 2 cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket is an ulterior motive for this to happen. However, adding Rare Candy with its existing effect may prove counterproductive and not improve the current situation, but just change the variables.
Adding Rare Candy in its current state wouldn’t really fix the problem of the odds of drawing all cards from a given evolutionary line, as it would either replace Stage 1 critters or bloat decks in a way that makes the card useless in many scenarios. At the same time, with the right card draws, one could break Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s meta with Rare Candy by having Stage 2 Pokemon ready to attack as early as turn 3 (second turn for the user). What follows is that adding this card can be a blessing and a curse, with no in-between.
How Rare Candy Could Work in Pokemon TCG Pocket
It’s difficult to balance Rare Candy if it ever makes its debut in the game, especially if Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Poke Ball card is to get upgrades and follow-ups. Another interesting way for this card to exist without making or breaking the meta would be to turn it into a Pokemon Tool card in Pokemon TCG Pocket. This could work in a similar way to the video game, where a Rare Candy makes a chosen Pokemon level up once, thus giving +10 HP and damage to the critter it is attached to. It remains to be seen what kind of path the developers will take with Rare Candy, and even then, it’s unclear if this card will ever be part of the game in the first place.
