Name:
Crystal Shard
Set:
EX Deoxys
Rarity:
Uncommon
Type:
Trainer
Subtype:
Pokémon Tool
Text:
Attach Crystal Shard to 1 of your Pokémon that doesn’t
already have a Pokémon Tool attached to it. If that Pokémon
is Knocked Out, discard this card.
As long as this card is attached to a Pokémon, that
Pokémon’s type is (C). If that Pokémon attacks, discard
this card at the end of the turn.
Due
to a shortage of time, I will forgo most of my normal
formatting.
This is a Pokémon Tool, and as you can only have one such
card attached to a single Pokémon at a time, it’s rare to
see more than a few copies in a deck, let alone a few
different types. As such, Crystal Shard must be very
useful or it will be very rarely played.
It
does. Crystal Shard has the advantage of not going
away until you have attacked, which will usually be to your
advantage. The effect will usually be used to either bypass
Resistance or take advantage of Weakness. In Modified,
several prominent cards are Weak to Colorless Pokémon, and
this is the key to taking said Pokémon down quickly.
Bypassing Resistance is also nice, however the most Resisted
types, Psychic and Fighting, have a Stadium to take care of
that problem, plus several of those Colorless Weak Pokémon
are also Resistant to one or both of those types. Be
careful not to attach this if it looks like Gengar ex
or EX Deoxys Sableye are in a deck: both of those
cards are Colorless Resistant, and I have seen careless
individuals mess up with Shard in that instance.
There is very little competition (outside of some very, very
deck specific combos) for Crystal Shard in Modified:
Strength Charm is the only other Pokémon Tool that
sees wide play. In Unlimited, though, we have several much
better options, like Focus Band and Gold
Berry.
Ratings
Unlimited:
1.5/5-Don’t use it unless your main attack a) you really
face a lot of Resistance, b) you are not a Fighting- or
Psychic-type, and c) you need to keep your own
Resistance intact (ruling out some other options).
Modified:
4/5-Some of the strongest decks have Colorless Weak
Pokémon. This is the easiest way to exploit that, and there
are few better choices for Pokémon Tools. Getting around
Resistance tends to be a nice bonus.
Limited:
3/5-Most of the time it won’t be too useful. Still, there
is some Colorless Weakness to exploit and Resistance to get
around. Just be careful if they drop Sableye. ;)
